Odds and Ends
by Oceanwind
Summary: Maka and Kid are paired together on a rather peculiar extra credit project, given to them by Stein of course. So ensues a wacky, far fetched adventure that leaves both of our heroes a bit at their wit's ends. With tensions rising, will the two be able to resist the curse of teenage hormones?And why can't she think straight when he stands there next to her? There goes her 'vacation'
1. Extra Credit?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater or any of it's characters.

**Odds and Ends**

**Extra Credit?**

Maka didn't look up as Soul plopped down in his usual seat next to her in class that day. There wasn't a reason to tear her eyes off her book and give her partner a stern glance; he knew she hated when he cut it so close to the bell, but he was on time today, so for that she quickly finished the sentence she was reading and gave him an appreciative smile. He smirked back, his shark like appearance unnerving her as she noticed the almost malicious look in his eye. Which meant one of two things for her, he was up to something, or he knew something. And both of those things had a nasty habit of revolving around her.

Before she had time to question him what was up, the bell rang, and Stein came in. With a curious side glance at her partner before the lesson started, Maka edged ever so slightly closer to him.

"Something you want to talk about?" she whispered to the white-haired boy.

Much to her annoyance, he shrugged, never losing the devious smirk that was plastered on his face. Letting out a small sigh, the meister tried to ignore him as Stein began his lecture. It was pretty similar to what they had every day, no real variation with a professor who was obsessed with dissection. Although Maka had a healthy dose of respect for her teacher and even admired him as a friend at some twisted level, he could still give her the creeps on almost a daily basis. Despite her best efforts, she found herself drifting away from the lesson. In times of peace there wasn't much to learn, and it wasn't like she was honing her skills for a huge battle anymore. She had just heard him give this same lecture last week for crying out loud!

Stifling a yawn, Maka glanced back over to Soul. Catching his eye, he smirked at her and flashed her a glimpse of a small folded note. Written neatly on top was her name, and it was clearly Professor Stein's handwriting. She expectantly held her hand out for the note, which Soul gave a haughty look in return. She then tried to make a grab for the note, but Soul quickly moved it from her grasp. He made some sort of disapproving noise under his breath just so she would catch it. He was taunting her, and although this was how their friendship worked at times, Maka found it insufferable. Scoffing, Maka turned back to the lesson hoping to distract herself from her obnoxious friend's antics._ He better hope that whatever is in that note isn't too important_, she thought to herself, almost grumbling it out loud.

A few more minutes went by like this, until finally Maka, who was quiet close to her wit's end, lurched from her chair and triumphantly snatched the note from her partner.

Stein stopped his lecture surprised that Maka, who he considered to be very straight laced would interrupt class. Being well aware of your title as a goodie-goodie just makes moments like these that much more embarrassing. Maka flushed and quickly righted her chair (which had unfortunately fallen over in the process of her struggle to get the note) and sat down. Black*Star started shouting at her adding to the disturbance, he was all sorts of pissed at her because she had stolen the spot light. It took several minutes for Stein's lecture to resume, and the usual hush fell over the class room (with a very unconscious Black*Star slumped over his desk).

Soul's silent laughter only made it worse, as Maka quickly unfolded the note and read the last few words she wanted to see at the moment.

_Maka,_

_Please stay after class today. I have a few important matters to discuss with you._

The lesson seemed to drag on after that. Stein's methods of getting revenge weren't a big concern now. She knew she was her teacher's favorite, and that he went easy on her a lot of the time because he saw her potential, and she worked hard. There was a reason why she could use Witch Hunter at such an early age, and why she had started to perfect the Warlock Hunter as well. It wasn't from luck. She had Soul practicing with her every day, and it ate up a lot of their weekend time as well. Even now, with peace throughout the world, she pushed them like it could end at any day. She had to be ready, because peace wasn't a permanent thing. It never would be.

Still she was excited about what Stein could want to talk to her about. He could be sending her on a harder mission, or teaching her a new technique, or even entrusting some sacred book to her. Her mind went on and on about the possibilities as her excitement grew. Finally the bell rang signaling the end of class. Maka impatiently waited for the rest of her classmates to file out, before approaching her teacher's desk. She waved off Soul, knowing that she would share whatever information with him later her partner nodded in dismal before turning back to his loud conversation with Black*Star about some new movie. She was about to discuss Professor Stein when she noticed that Kid had hung back as well. She smiled sweetly at her friend, trying to hide her eagerness at trying to have a conversation with Stein.

"Ah well then both of your partners gave you the notes I sent," Stein said interrupting Maka's plots about somehow getting Kid to leave.

"Oh you wanted to speak with both of us?" Maka asked, somehow she wasn't able to hide her disappointment. Stein smiled lightly at her before gesturing to a few chairs behind them.

"I have a classified… how do I put this…" mumbled the professor as he lit a smoke and took a long drag.

"Mission?" Kid supplied. The first words he had spoken, and his voice was stoic. If Maka had said anything like that she was sure her voice would have squeaked in excitement.

"No, no, nothing like that," Stein mused. His exhaled, watching the smoke's wild patterns in the air before it dissolved.

Not trusting her voice Maka remained silent, and Kid didn't offer any words either. Both leaned back against adjacent desks, staring hard at the teacher before them.

"I guess you could call it an extra credit assignment," Stein settled on saying after several long moments.

"Are we failing professor?" Maka questioned.

He laughed at that, waving his free hand in reassurance.

"It's just you two are so much further ahead than everyone in class I thought I would give you guys more of a challenge."

At this Maka perked up, noticing that beside her, Kid had as well.

"What kind of challenge?" Kid asked slowly, as if he was nervous that the answer would have some horrid response, and knowing their professor. It could be.

Stein sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before handing the two a packet of papers. Both looked identical, expect one had Maka's name neatly scrawled on the top, and the other had Kid's. Without a word, both devilled into the papers.

It took a matter of minutes, and it was nearly simultaneous when both of their heads shot up from their reading to give the professor an incredulously look.

"You can't be serious!" both shouted at the same time.

"I'm unbelievably serious," he told them with a look that was nearly as malicious as Soul's had been earlier.

* * *

**A/N: **_Ah yes... here I am with another KiMa story. I could not shake this out of my head for the life of me. Even though I have a few too many projects going on at the moment I couldn't resist starting this one as well. I've become deliciously addicted to this couple and I wish there were a few more stories about them out there. Don't expect this to be like anything you've read for this couple so far. I like to take several twists and turns. ;)_


	2. Are You Sure?

**A/N: **A little warning in here. I have read the manga, but I'm not up to speed on it. I'm actually just where the show left off. So a lot of this is going to be speculation and a lot is going to be blatantly made up. I'll stick true to the characters as close as I can, and what I actually know… but other than that. Expect the story to be slightly AU after this and after this chapter expect it to get a little dark. ~~

**Odds and Ends**

**Are You Sure?**

Maka felt like she was stumbling out of the room, only dimly was she aware that Kid was following beside her with the same lost look plastered on his face. They got about half way down the empty hallway before Maka stopped, drew herself to her full height and faced him.

"We don't have to accept you know. If you're uncomfortable…" Kid started before she could get a word in edge wise. "It is only extra credit after all," he finished lamely. The color on his face seemed to deepen, and she was sure hers was as well.

"I say we both sleep on it…" she started cautiously, "but honestly our friendship should be able to survive this. It isn't like this is permanent. I still have Soul, and you still have Liz and Patty. It could be like a vacation away from them. I don't know about you but Soul has a pretty good habit of getting on my nerves," she was talking way too fast by the end of her small rant, somehow thinking that she had to put it by him quickly before he could shut down the possibility of her idea that maybe and just maybe, they could do this. She knew that Kid had caught all that she had said. His smile turned softer.

"If you're leaning towards yes then I'm inclined to help you."

Maka made a face.

"If you don't want to, Kid, that is fine. It is only extra—"

"It'll be interesting," Kid interjected. He waved his hand in dismal as if her notion of his protesting was gone with it.

That it would be. The time frame alone would be interesting enough. They would be gone a whole month away from the academy, secluded on a desert island with only each other for company. Just in case anything went wrong…

Maka felt a bubble of excitement start to well inside her stomach.

"If it fails completely we should bring lots of books to read while we are there," she started walking down the hall again, and knew instinctually that Kid would be following perfectly in step with her.

"Between the two of us I'm sure even our collections combined wouldn't last us a whole month of free time," Kid joked, poking her side as they rounded a corner.

"I don't know about you but my collection would last you a few years… I can get through them in a day though," she stuck her tongue out, following it with a wink at her friend. Her mood felt considerably lighter, and she was eager. She was going to be learning something new, something that could make her stronger. At the thought of becoming stronger she felt herself falter, and her feet slowed again as they neared the exit to the school. Her pause caught Kid's attention as he shouldered on a backpack, which she couldn't seem to recall them stopping to pick up or seeing him carry earlier. That was the least of her problems though, as this new thought brought in dread that immediately drowned out her earlier excitement.

"How do we tell this to our partners? They are going to think we are nuts…" she said after a moment of a long gaze at each other.

"How about we sleep on it tonight? We don't have to rush to a decision, which is why Stein said he wanted our answers at the end of the week. This could become a big commitment Maka," he warned. "So don't feel pressured by anyone. It is for you to decide… because it is for you…"

_And you_, she added silently in her head. But the thought struck her as odd and she knew that voicing it was a bit too intimate for their friendship. They would risk their lives for each other on any day, but this new development put a whole new dynamic in, and she wasn't quite sure how comfortable either of them were with the thought.

"I still want to talk to Soul about it," she told him. Kid's gaze hardened for a second before he nodded.

"Don't let him decide for you," he warned as he pulled out Beelzebub and jumped on. He turned back and offered her his hand.

"I'll fly you home," he offered when she hesitated.

As soon as she grabbed his hand she knew her fate was sealed. If nothing else morbid curiosity would have her go through with this, and maybe it was the same for him as well. His hand seemed so hot yet cool in hers as she quickly jumped on and maneuvered to an awkward huddle between them. She pressed her chest tightly against his back (his stupid backpack made her feel like her grip was loose) and wrapped her arms firmly around him. She stared hard at the sun, who was trying hard to fight off sleep, as they speed towards her dorm. Who knew what would happen in the next month or so? They sure didn't.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Soul looked like he was on the verge of either having a major freak out or throwing a huge party. He finally settled on one emotion, as his face screwed up in distaste.

"You're a _meister_," he said again, stressing meister like it would get his point across to her if he said it differently.

He kept on saying those words, like it would somehow make it truer than it was a minute ago. She nodded.

"Yes I'm a meister, but I'm also a weapon," she said again. She fought the sigh that wanted to escape her like it was a bear. Which lead to her scowl at the table and at harmless cup of tea in her hands.

"You aren't really a weapon, it is dormant. You are a meister," he said again this time with an exaggeration and slowness that made her feel like he was trying to communicate with an alien or something.

"Yes I know," she snapped.

This conversation had been following the same pattern for the past ten minutes. It really wasn't that stimulating. Soul was a bright kid, but when he wasn't teasing her or trying to think of some new 'cool' things, his wit seemed a bit lacking. Not in the stupid way, just in a way that she knew she was better at. He pieced together things for her, about her, when it needed to be done. He was her best friend, her partner, her weapon. They had an unbreakable bond that they have proven can withstand just about everything. Despite all this, Maka still would appreciate time away from him. He could be rude, snobbish, and he found some sick sense of enjoyment out of teasing her or embarrassing her in public. If nothing else this was just to get some much needed space and alone time. She didn't want to say that though, because that would hurt his feelings. Even if he tried to act aloof or like he didn't care, it was painfully obvious that it was just the opposite.

"I'll only be away for a month. It is an experiment, and if I can awaken my weapon side, this will be a huge advantage in the future. Think of all the possibilities…" she trailed off. "It is extra credit. That was what Stein was saying earlier," she added. Soul rolled his eyes at her statement.

"Such a bookworm," he teased, but he started to relax. She could tell by the way his shoulders slumped. He knew she couldn't resist extra credit, even if she had a perfect A in that class. Still her stomach started to knot uncomfortably. She had yet to explain that she would be with Kid this whole time, and that Kid would be acting as her partner. That would probably hurt his feelings. She swallowed hard.

The phone rang loudly causing her to jump. Soul rolled his eyes at her antics before leaning over the couch to snag the offending object. He tossed it to her, giving her a weak devious smile in the process. Soul refused to ever answer their phone while she was home. Another thing that annoyed the hell out of her about him, she scowled before clicking the talk button.

"Maka speaking," she answered.

"_Ah…Maka. I just told Liz and Patty I would be away for a month and about the extra credit. So on my end I have decided_," Kid's voice greeted her with what sounded suspiciously like cheer in his normally stoic voice, but she wrote it off as the static the house phone was probably giving off. She found herself holding the receiver closer and turning slightly away from Soul.

"That's great," she said with fake cheer.

"_You haven't told Soul yet_?" he asked, guessing at her tone. She let out a fake giggle.

"No, I did."

Why the hell didn't he just text her? The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, and her acting skills could really use some work.

"_And_?" Kid asked after a pregnant pause.

"I haven't finished quiet yet," she said in the same cheerful tone.

"_Ah. I see_…" Kid's voice trailed off almost as if he was disappointed. "_You're going to leave out the fact that you're going with me_?" he asked, rather correctly guessing her thoughts moments before, which had her fidgeting in her seat.

She sometimes forgot that Kid was normally on the same wavelength as her.

"No, I was just about too. It's a rather sensitive topic," she mumbled, dropping the fake cheer. Next to her she could feel Soul's curious gaze locked on her. It was quiet on the other end for a moment before Kid lightly chuckled.

"_I wish you luck then_," he said, his voice seemed to have a gentle smile attached to it, and suddenly she was hit with a very strong emotion. She wanted him next to her facing Soul about this announcement. But she quickly shoved that down, and inhaled sharply to clear the feeling.

_That was weird_, she thought. She had never needed anyone by her side to face anything, except for Soul when facing a bad guy. So why would she need Kid? Soul wasn't the bad guy, and if anything she wasn't scared of her partner, she was scared she was going to hurt his feelings.

"Yes thank you, I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said, and for whatever reason she found her own gentle smile plastered on her face in return even if she couldn't see his.

She didn't wait for him to say goodbye. The few times they had chatted on the phone she had found out he never said those words, and honestly she found goodbyes rather permanent and uncomfortable herself. With a click she shut the phone off. Sighing, she placed it on the table right next to her tea, whose steam was starting to thin.

"Who—"

"That was Kid," she offered, quickly cutting her partner off.

Soul's eyes widened in realization before she even said it. She didn't even need to say the words, 'he is going with me'. Because the next thing she knew her partner was angrily storming off into the other room. _Thankfully he thinks slamming doors is uncool_, she mused. She jumped slightly as the door slammed shut behind him. Sometimes, she was taken by surprise by her partner.

* * *

**A/N: **You guys still don't know the full assignment yet do you? Ooppps ;). You'll just have to see... mwahahahaha.


	3. This is Awkward?

**Odds and Ends**

**This is Awkward?**

Glancing at the clock that hung just above the stove, Maka had to refrain from screaming as she realized she had overslept and it was bordering closely to the time she liked to leave for school. Instead she sighed. Quickly making her way to the bathroom, she was halted by the sound of the shower and a locked door. She frowned. Not only was it unlike her to sleep it, but it was also unlike her partner to take such long showers. It had been the gentle patter of the falling water that had woken her up, and that had been at least 15 minutes ago. She tapped her foot impatiently debating her options before finally pounding on the door.

"Soul! Hurry up!" she snapped.

She didn't get a response, not that she was expecting one, but it still annoyed her. Sadly everything her partner did lately annoyed her. She was starting to think that it might have to do with the fact that she was leaving in a few days for a whole month. She kept her complaints to herself, because she knew how much this whole thing was bothering him. It wasn't like she was trying to replace him, but she knew he felt something like that. Keeping things bottled in normally wasn't a problem for her, but since she had partnered with Soul she had learned the value of communicating and she was surprised to find that she wanted to talk it out with him. At the same time though, she didn't want him swaying her from her decision. She needed this change of pace; it wasn't that long of a time frame and being away from Soul might help her tolerance with his antics go back up.

To be fair to Soul it wasn't just him. In many ways she just wanted to be away from Death City for a while, away from her father, away from her obligations, away from all the expectations. So wrapped up in her thoughts she pounded on the door again, only to whiff and fall forward seeing as the door was already opened.

"Damn, Maka," mumbled her partner. He was half naked, a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand as he rubbed his hair dry. "Over sleep much?"

He was teasing her, and again she was struck with a sense of frustration. Instead of answering him or his smirk with a Maka Chop she glowered for a moment.

"Move!" she snapped, shoving him aside and slamming the door behind her. She really had no tolerance for him right now, and while part of her felt guilty; another part was just relieved to finally have an option to escape him for a short while.

The water was cold as she switched it on and hurriedly showered. She took the first shower for a reason, seeing as she didn't spend forever doing god knows what under the running water, unlike her partner. Seething, and shivering, Maka quickly washed her hair and body, before bolting out of the shower to get dressed. Her normal put together appearance looked disheveled in the mirror, her pig tails were even a little lopsided, but she didn't have time to worry about that. She was officially going to be late at the rate she was going. Soul was calling for her from the kitchen.

"Looks like we forgot to pick up breakfast stuff…" he said sheepishly. "We'll have to stop somewhere along the way."

She really wanted to let out a scream of frustration, instead she sighed again. Knowing that she was already going to be late, she calmly picked up her bag and made her way towards the door.

"You're buying," she told Soul as calmly as possible. She could still feel a vein in her forehead throbbing in displeasure.

()()()()()()()()()()()

She never really paid much attention to her peers during class. On occasion Soul would bother her, or get her to pass a note back and forth, but very rarely did she let her mind wander.

Today though, was a day from hell and she was acutely aware of everyone around her. It might partly be that she was NEVER late, and today had gotten her lectured three times in front of the entire student body by three different teachers, or the fact that her appearance was less than immaculate. Today, her peers were buzzing with conversation, and it was rather hard to ignore when her name seemed to be like an annoying fly's hum in the background. It was during lecture, and still she had heard her name at least 3 times from different corners of the room. She clenched and unclenched her fist around her pencil, trying hard to focus on scribbling notes on Stein's lecture.

"You're uneven," Kid's smooth voice whispered behind her. He interrupted her vain attempt to try and actually focus. She felt her brow twitch, and dropped her head to peak at him from under her arm.

"Don't worry about it," she coolly replied, hoping that the ice in her voice would get through to the young Death Lord.

It didn't. His brows were twitching and his hands shook when he made eye contact with her.

Like her day could get any freaking worse. Her soon to be partner was having a melt down because her symmetry was off. Letting out a breath, she dug around in her bag and pulled out a mirror, quickly she fixed her hair before turning her attention back to lecture. She patted herself on the back, in her head, for mastering the art of symmetrical pig tails years ago. At least it would make working with Kid easier.

It seemed to shut Kid up at least.

When Stein dismissed class for the day, Maka took her time packing her bag. Soul looked like he wanted to wait for her, but she waved him off as Black* Star started calling for him impatiently.

"I'll meet up with you later," she promised at his skeptical look. She had already promised Tsubaki that she would team up with her when the gang all met up for basketball later and she wasn't one for breaking her word.

Soul knew she was having a lousy day, and more than once he had given someone a death glare for her when they whispered her name within his hearing range. She appreciated his concern but at the moment she just wanted a second to collect herself. The busy hallways that were sure to be silent when she walked through them, and that wasn't something she wanted to deal with at the end of the day. Soul gave her another glance that screamed he wanted to talk to her about something, or that he wanted her to open up…

"If my day gets any worse I'll gladly tell you later at home," she promised him with a smile. "But I—"

"I would like to talk to you, Maka," Kid interrupted.

Maka felt herself twirl around to face one of the few things that could possibly make this situation worse. Only to her surprise Soul seemed to relax and he gave Kid a small smile.

"I'll see you two at the court then. Later," Soul dismissed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he strolled out of the room with an impatient Black*Star. In the span of seconds the rest of the room emptied, including Stein.

"That was odd," she breathed before looking back at Kid. Liz and Patty had already walked off; the sisters' claimed that they had to get manicures or something… She hadn't really been too focused on them. Liz had been the only girl today that was actually kind (besides Tsubaki) and asked if she wanted to skip this class with her. An offer she politely refused for the sake of her dignity. Like hell she would let anyone else bother her today.

"Much like your behavior today. Are you alright?" Kid questioned, both of his brows raised in question, and Maka couldn't help but smile at his antics. His need for perfect symmetry was like her need for perfect grades.

"I'm just…" she paused letting out a deep breath before finishing, "a little off today."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Kid offered following up with a kind smile.

"I'm just stressed, honestly it is nothing," she chuckled and straightened her bag on her shoulder. Kid twitched slightly, before he jammed his hand roughly into his pocket.

"Mind if I adjust your bag?" he mumbled, his cheeks flushed and his eyes diverted to the floor.

"You do realize I'm not going to let you go completely crazy on me like you do with Liz and Patty right?"

"I have come to terms with that," he said letting out his own breezy chuckle, "but you have to come to terms with a few things as well Maka."

She let a small silence come between them. She was well aware that she would have to follow Kid in every decision he made, rather blindly. Although she could talk to him and offer her advice, she would no longer have the control she was used to. She couldn't just run off and take care of things by herself. She let out a sigh.

"Fine, fix my stupid bag," she groaned.

Kid's hands were instantly on her shoulders.

"Straighten your posture," he slightly commanded, but his tone wasn't really bossy. She relented, straightening her back and shoulders before Kid pulled out a ruler.

"I swear if you make me stand here for ten hours—"

"Ten is a horribly offensive number," Kid dismissed interrupting her. "I'll have this fixed in eight seconds," he promised. His hands quickly and deftly flitted to the strap. He mumbled incoherently under his breath while he worked. His eyes darted across her frame checking measurements until finally he straightened and took a proud step back. Maka was rather impressed that he was able to fix it so quickly.

"That was nine seconds," Maka teased watching Kid's color drain from his face.

"Are you sure? Because I am pretty sure I counted to eight perfectly in my head. I mean I guess it all started from when you counted. I don't know if I can handle this type of pressure—"

Maka laughed and readjusted her strap out of habit causing her friend to cringe and scoff at her before she gave Kid a good-natured pat on the shoulder.

"Chill out Kid. We'll have plenty of time to adjust to each other's quirks in a few days," she promised.

"You're right," he breathed out. "You just seemed distraught today. I wanted to make sure everything was alright," he told her. For some reason there was a slight tinge to his cheeks, just the faintest shade of red, but Maka dismissed it as remnants of his earlier blush.

"Well thank you," Maka said, her hand nervously shot out to grab her other arm. "I think that maybe we should go catch up with our friends. It is going to be a whole month that we don't see them."

"You know I think I am already starting to miss them," Kid said as they started to exit the room.

"What with Black*Star's random challenges and yelling all the time," Kid continued.

"Patty's obsession with breaking giraffe necks…" Maka shivered.

"Soul's cool guy act," he laughed, his eyes trained on their destination as they exited the building. Maka was suddenly amazed that she hadn't noticed that they had traversed the entire length of the school without her noticing, and even with the small crowd of students that were still buzzing she hadn't really paid attention to them. She smiled at Kid, knowing that he wasn't paying attention; she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered under her breath. She knew he caught it and she knew he knew what she was thanking him for. She was just glad that he had offered her the comfort of his friendship. It was a rare moment that the two of them were ever alone without their friends and for some reason he was the one that could cheer her up with the simplest of things. She and Kid just clicked, and their friendship was rather instant. Sometimes she forgot that, and she took it for granted.

Kid just grinned in response.

"Ah. I don't think I will miss Liz's manicure messes all over the bathroom," he said dully as they rounded a corner changing the topic back to their friends. They were just a few blocks away from the basketball court, and Maka could hear her friends' laughs and shouts.

"Tsubaki…" Maka trailed off. "Actually I think I'm going to not be sarcastic and just genuinely miss her," she chuckled.

"Ah I was being genuine," Kid chuckled.

The court came into view then, and they jogged to quickly catch up with their friends. After a few hours of playing basketball, Maka found herself sweaty and feeling completely normal. After a bad day of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, she needed this group time and normalcy her friends offered. The mini pep talk helped loads too not that she was about to voice that to everyone. The only one who knew was Soul, and she knew he wouldn't do anything to dampen her newly improved mood. It just proved that she was right. That she wasn't making a mistake going on this assignment with Kid. They could match wavelengths easily and they were both excellent Soul Perception users. They should knock this assignment out of the park.

"I'll see you Friday," she called happily to Kid as she and Soul started to leave. Tsubaki and Black*Star were throwing a party at her place for everyone to get a little farewell in then. Not that they would be gone very long, but still long enough to be missed by everyone. Kid nodded, returning her smile.

"I knew some basketball would help cheer you up," Soul said proudly as their apartment appeared on the horizon. Maka rolled her eyes at her friend and gave him a playful push.

"I think I just realized I needed to relax a little," she said knocking down his ego.

"A little?" he teased.

"Soul!" she mocked growled as he smiled at her deviously.

"Or was it that cute little talk you had with lover boy that helped?" his grin turned down right evil as he wiggled his brow at her.

"MAKA CHOP!"

* * *

**A/N: **_Maka are you embarrassed? :p. Sorry about the long wait everyone. No excuses, but hey. The next chapter they finally depart on their mission. I wanted to show a little character building as well as their friendship before we start getting some fluff up in here. Yes I just phrased that like that. You may smack me over the internet. Ha! Until next time :)_


	4. Planned or Planning?

**Disclaimer: **I normally only put these once in my stories, but seeing as I'm referring to more than just Soul Eater I would like to make it clear that I do not own Cosmo... nor the amazing book The October Horse by Colleen McCullough and while we're on the topic I don't own anything that could possibly make money. So don't sue me. I'm a really broke college kid. :p

Also mild warning. This chapter is long (possibly boring), and probably offensive on some level to any writer that likes Mary Sue's... soooo with that being said. Enjoy!

**Odds and Ends**

**Planned or Planning?**

Maka took a deep breath. This week had passed by too quickly for her tastes, and now that the moment was here she found herself feeling one major emotion.

She was nervous. Not without reason of course, she had spent the better part of her night building up and tearing down reasons for backing out. There was this nagging feeling that maybe she should reconsider her choice, but now as she stood next to Kid silently staring out the window next to him, she couldn't help but try to shake the feeling off in a vain attempt to look more at ease. The early hour contributed to the darkness outside and made it harder to see out the window, leaving them with a glaring reflection of themselves and a faint outline of what lied beyond the thin glass.

There were several strings attached to this assignment that were a bit out of her comfort zone. A major one being that she wasn't a full-fledged weapon, let alone one that could be safely handled and wielded by a young Death Lord. Another problem was that she had yet to even learn how to master awakening said power while being conscious or aware of her actions.

She let out her nervous breath, glancing to her side where her soon to be partner stood. His face was stoic, his eyes glancing out the window in an almost bored like manner, but she knew he was studying the airports runways with the highest scrutiny possible looking for the slightest mistake. She was surprised that he had yet to find anything unsymmetrical yet, but the only emotion she knew that was on her face was nerves, as she bit her lip and furrowed her brow at their reflections on the glass.

Her curiosity burned and filled her with an odd sense of yearning for adventure. That was really the only answer she could give herself as to why she ultimately choose to go with this 'assignment'. The extra credit, and the perks of escaping her 'normal' day to day life were just that; added perks. If she was going to be honest with herself curiosity was why she was here now; standing a bit out of place, next to Kid.

He cleared his throat, startling her from her awkward muses of her selfish reasoning. A small blush stained her cheeks.

"Sorry, I missed that," she mumbled as he looked at her expectantly for an answer to a question she had completely zoned out.

"I asked if you really truly want to go through with this. As soon as your father hears about it—"

"Papa won't be an issue," she assured him quickly cutting off his protest; she swayed and gracefully took a seat close by. "I am a little worried about how your father is going to take it. You aren't really one for teenage rebellion," she commented.

"Ah yes…" he sighed. His gaze was still locked on the dark runway. The night sky slowly turned grey and ebbed away to the hints of morning causing the mirror image of him to fade as more light came through. "Well I guess everyone has to go through with it. Besides, I'm not truly running away or barring communication with him."

"He won't ground you or something for this?" Maka asked confused.

"I'm sure I can expect a Reaper-Chop when we get back," he shuttered, "but Stein did promise to handle our parents. I would leave it to him," he finished with a blasé shrug.

"I still can't believe we are going to Greenland," she mumbled after they lapped into an awkward silence. She rubbed her arm.

"Yes well… it makes sense. He can't exactly have something like that parading around the country side in plain sight of everyone and it is the least populated country in the world. I'm just surprised that he has managed to keep this out of father's attention for so long," Kid sighed again. He flicked an irritated glance to his watch, "Although if he had told father we could have at least used the private jet…"

"Your father does tend to let him get away with a lot more than others can," Maka offered trying to divert Kid's annoyance but really she only added to his irritation.

"I guess it can't be helped," he grumbled, finally relaxing enough to take a seat beside Maka and away from glaring out the window. The sun was just starting to peak on the horizon, giving the desert around them a beautiful reddish hue. "I brought some good books for the flight that I thought you might want to enjoy. You can dig around in my bag for them," he told her gesturing to his bag that had been placed strategically over the back of his seat between them in what he deemed as symmetrical.

"You didn't have to do that. I came prepared," Maka grinned and pointed to her own bag that rested near her feet.

"What did you bring?" he asked lightly. "And please don't tell me Twilight," he added with a small smile of his own.

"I'm not Liz," she growled before digging in her own bag and pulling out a rather thick book. _Although in her case I'm sure it would be a Cosmo_, she thought to herself. "October Horse," she answered. "It's one of my favorites," she admitted with a small blush.

"That is a bit beyond our generation I think," Kid teased, "but I do have to admit. That book is fascinating. I love how she digs inside of everyone's minds and gives a rational dialog in accordance to what actually happened in history."

Maka sat there stunned for a moment.

"You've read Colleen McCullough?" she squeaked, causing her cheeks to flush slightly. His gaze rose slightly to meet hers in a challenging smirk.

"You seem surprised," he chuckled.

"I mean… I know you read and everything… I am… surprised. The deepest conversation I can have with a fellow bookworm is more modern and written for teenagers. Don't get me wrong. I like the Hunger Games and what not, but I find that literature not as satisfying as a good murder mystery or historical classic…"

She stopped ranting, her cheeks deepening in color as she stared hard at the book in her lap.

"I know what you mean. It is kind of annoying how stereotypical some _supposed_ bookworms are," Kid said encouraging her to look up. "But I didn't peg you as the type to let that bother you. As top of the class it is only obvious that you are above the average reading level."

"I'm not bothered at all," she quickly defended. "I am above our reading level… I guess… but I still read just about anything I can get my hands on," she hated that the color in her cheeks refused to go away as she stuttered about. Why were her hands starting to sweat? Was it the lack of sleep the night before? Her eyes did feel kind of heavy…

"I have noticed," he reassured her. He grinned. "Well I brought some books I think you haven't read yet. If you get bored just ask and you can read them," he told her letting her turn her attention back to her book as he turned and faced the window again.

She smiled before thumbing to where she had last been in the story. It was several minutes before frustration set in and she realized she couldn't quiet concentrate on the book in her lap. She read the same page three times before the gentle call of their flight number was called out on the intercom.

She tucked the book under her arm as she stood, stretched and followed Kid to the line where a small group waited to board the plane. Feeling nervous she took one last look around the mostly vacate airport. Not a lot of people opted to fly this early, and Kid had insisted on arriving two hours prior to their flight. He really wasn't used to flying on an actual plane that wasn't personally owned by his father, so for the lack of sleep and the ungodly hour, she would forgive him. Despite her forgiveness, her nerves felt like they were on fire, and she was rather jumpy. At any moment she felt like someone would come running over and she would get into a heap of trouble, and it would have been all for naught. She gritted her teeth. The consequences would come later and possibly not at all if Stein pulled through. She took another deep breath. Maybe it was because this was her first mission without Soul at her side, she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Not that she didn't trust Kid, she trusted him with her life, but this was much different than her usual-well, everything.

A gentle hand landed on her shoulder and caused her to jump. She turned knowingly to the owner of the hand. Glancing at the slightly worried gold eyes helped harden her resolve. This wasn't just for her, as much as she felt like she was being selfish, Kid was in this too. She wasn't alone.

"Maka…" Kid started. "If you are really having second thoughts we can tell Stein we don't want to do this. You won't be letting anyone down."

She smiled at him, and stepped to the side to let a few grumbling passengers pass them in line as the flight attendant called for further boarding.

"I'm fine," she promised. Her hand shot up to where his rested on her shoulder and she gave him a gentle squeeze. "We can do this," she said firmly.

()()()()()()()()()

"Oh… Death! We can't do this," Maka groaned as she stumbled off the plane after Kid. He smiled and shook his head at her complaining.

"Are you always like this before a mission?" he teased his mood had lightened considerably on the plane ride.

"No," she grumbled again hating how her cheeks responded but she was kind of glad that he had already started making his ways towards the baggage claim and missed the color change in her cheeks.

He had napped most of the way, making the unbearably long flight quieter than what Maka would have liked. Although Soul normally had music on and flipped through a magazine of some sort, she was able to starve off boredom and talk to her partner on occasion. As much as she loved to read, she craved human attention like any other person._ You're going to have to stop making comparisons of them,_ she told herself as she winced at her thoughts. There were too many differences to expect Kid to be anything like Soul, and it wasn't like either of them could possibly be romantically interested in her. So there was no reason for her to be nit-picking Kid in her head so early on a mission. Besides she had a different role to fulfill with Kid as her partner. She had to encourage him and strive to protect him with her life, as it was expected from any weapon to do. There was no reason to compare a weapon and a meister, they were on different levels entirely.

She stretched her legs, and caught up with Kid as they headed down to baggage claim. Both had managed to pack neatly enough and brought only the essentials to last a month, so both had two bags to search for. Maka stretched her arms and back, performing awkward poses that she had learned in a yoga class she had taken once, while keeping one eye on Kid as he patiently waited for the bags to appear.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood," she settled on saying. She watched him with guarded eyes as a full-fledged smile took over his face when he looked over at her.

"Yes well, you can say I'm looking forward to this vacation as much as you," he assured her. "A good friend for company just makes it better."

She found herself nodding in agreement, and a genuine smile erupted from her as well.

"Even if we did get stuck in a frozen wasteland," she muttered under her breath as she spotted her bags and quickly collected them.

"Look on the positives. It is close to summer. I'm sure the weather won't be terrible," he told her grabbing her bags and shouldering his own on he made his way towards the exit. Wearily she followed, unsure of her surroundings and the few people milling around. Hardly anyone seemed like they wanted to stay at the airport long, and there were no real crowds for anything.

"I'm sure we'll be freezing our bums off in no time," she added with fake cheer and pep to her voice. Kid chuckled as he hailed the waiting cap for them and opened the door for her.

"Just wait until we get to our destination," Kid said as he ushered her in and threw their baggage into the trunk. "You're going to love the view."

She wasn't sure why, but the way he was acting so giddy and happy (as giddy and happy as Kid could get without getting ridiculous) caused a small smile to spread on her lips as she stared out the window and she found herself eager to see the view he promised. The rugged cuts left by icebergs from a long time ago left beautiful mountains and lakes that she took careful notice of as they drove past on the winding road. The cab driver didn't say a word to them; on occasion he would glance at them from the mirror, an accusing stare in his eyes. When they rolled to a stop Maka frowned at the sign.

"Nuuk?"

"The capital," Kid said stepping out of the cab and handing the man a wad of bills without saying a word. Not in the rude way, but it seemed like the man had been instructed not to talk to them. Most escorts to missions weren't supposed to back in Death City so Maka wrote it off and gave the man a polite nod in thanks.

She stepped out and shouldered one of her bags and dragged the other behind her as she followed Kid down the street from where the cab had dropped them off. It wasn't long until they came across a small pub and entered. Maka was again stricken with the feeling of abandon that this country seemed to carry or maybe even the type of preserved untouched space of old and ancient times plagued it. A few people were sitting at the bar, but other than that the room was vacant. Kid approached one of the men, motioning for her to stay where she was before she could get another word in.

It was starting to dawn on her that Kid had a bigger role in this extra credit assignment than what she had originally thought. Although she had been given the same packet of information from Stein, Kid was completely taking charge and seemed like he knew what he was doing. He was comfortable approaching people that were strangers while Maka had never heard a word out of them or about them beforehand. In fact, she hadn't given much thought to their travel arrangements because normally it was taken care of for her. The academy or Lord Death took care of it, and she couldn't believe that she hadn't even thought of this before! With both the academy and Lord Death not involved in any of the planning, of course Stein had asked for Kid to help plan their mission. She felt slightly offended that her favorite teacher hadn't gotten her more involved. Her mood continued to darken as she thought of the long plane ride, and how Kid's mood seemed to keep improving with every step they took in this foreign country.

She suppressed a growl as she watched Kid talk with a man at the bar in hushed tones. Both shot a look to her at that point as if they could feel her emotions, Kid gave her a nervous smile, before both seemed to hunker down and get lost in their conversation once again. A few minutes ticked by before Kid stood and offered the man his hand.

The man was tall, taller than her Papa, with a full brown beard and light brown eyes. He had a rough look to him, but as he rolled his eyes and shook Kid's hand she noticed that his soul seemed like a sincere and gentle one. Kid practically sauntered back to her.

"Well?" she questioned, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice. Jet lag was starting to set in as well, and it took a lot of effort to stand straight and face him with a blank face.

Kid didn't seem to notice as he answered, "that man agreed to brave the rough sea on the eastern coast. It'll be a few days of tough sailing but we'll get to our destination soon," he promised.

She was about to blow up on him for leaving her out of such important decisions about their travel, and how he had left it all to chance to even find this man. She was about to voice it when something stopped her. Kid had answers, and knew much more about this assignment than she did. She felt like an idiot for thinking that they would both be stumbling along searching for Stein's 'little problem' as he had so gently put it. Frustration set in as she let out a slow breath, the realization that she didn't have as much control as she wanted started to set in already. Kid must've known her inner conflict and gave her a small smile. His hand shot down and grabbed hers before he deftly scooped up his two bags and the one that wasn't attached to her back in one hand.

"Come on," he urged tugging her out of the pub. "Let's go eat. You have to be starving."

She was kind of annoyed that he even knew that much too but she would let him get away with it since she was so tired. She didn't mind as he led her out of the pub and back onto the street. In fact she kind of liked how warm his hand was…

()()()()()()()()

It was the best burger she had ever had. The wait into the popular restaurant had been rather ridiculous and her stomach growled constantly to remind her of her hunger and agitation as they waited. This was the largest group of people Maka had seen so far since arriving here and noticed that it would probably be the last time she was surrounded by so many humans for the next month. When they had been waited on and sat down to a fair table, Maka ordered the most American food thing she could think of. As she scarfed it down she would occasionally shoot Kid a glare as he lightly sipped a soda and took polite small bites out of his food. He had ordered the same as her, but the way he ate looked much more dignified than her.

"Spill it," she said once she had managed to shove half of the burger down her throat. Feeling somewhat satisfied she was able to slow down and start a conversation.

"Spill what?" Kid asked his brows rose in mock innocence but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Spill what it is you know more about than I do about this 'project' Stein has given us," she settled on. She tried not to let her tone show her displeasure, but she failed miserably, especially when Kid's smile deepened.

"I can understand why Soul teases you so much," he commented, he chuckled as her cheeks started to color in anger. "But don't worry," he added quickly, "Stein wants you to relax as much as possible and focus solely on bringing out the weapon side of you. If you're busy focusing on making decisions then—"

"I can't focus on protecting you to the best of my ability," she cut off finishing for him. She gave him a sheepish grin before picking up a few fries and munching on them. "I'm sorry Kid. I am tired from that plane ride. I guess I'm just a little irritable. I thought there was this whole scheme and started working myself up," she chuckled explaining her thoughts for the day with the simple conversation.

"Well it is a scheme," he laughed, "but you are involved. You have as much detail as I do in that aspect," he assured her.

Was it just her or was being out of the country making his normal stoic voice and attitude disappear? She couldn't help but return his smile. The full belly was also probably helping her relax.

"So when do we set out for the second leg of traveling?" she asked innocently.

"Tomorrow morning," he answered. "We set out on a charter to the eastern part of the island then."

"If Soul were here he'd comment about how Greenland is a continent," Maka whispered under her breath. A pang of loneliness filled her as she looked at Kid. What was she expecting? That he would just magically know what to say or do? He was being the perfect gentleman, there was no reason to feel so nervous next to him, and so unlike herself.

"And then you would correct him about how it is, in fact, an island," he added matter-of-factly the smile gone and his monotone back. "Liz would be impressed with your knowledge, and Patty would scream something off topic," he said studying his plate with boredom before taking another slow and graceful bite.

She suddenly felt terrible about mentioning Soul so soon into the trip. Although she had thought of his several times since they had said goodbye this morning, neither of them had mentioned their other partners yet. The fact that they were now separated from them by an ocean and hundreds of miles seemed to make the pang of loneliness in her chest worse, even though she had seen Soul earlier this morning. She grimaced at her lack of tact, Kid probably thought she was already comparing him to Soul, and who knew what he was thinking of her in comparison to Liz or Patty.

"I didn't mean to mention Soul," she said abruptly interrupting the silence that had fallen between them, and causing Kid to give her an odd glance. "I mean I'm going to miss him and all but it isn't like he and I are dating or anything. He is my partner and I—"

"Calm down Maka," Kid said an easy smile returning, but it didn't quiet reached his eyes. "You don't have to explain to me. I understand that you miss him and you will miss him while we are away. It isn't a crime to miss someone close to you."

At that he kind of laughed at that but it was more of an awkward chuckle really, as he took a bite out of his burger. A thought came to her then as she watched him busy himself with his meal while she finished the rest of hers. She waited for him to ask for the check and pay before she asked a question she wasn't sure he had thought of yet.

"So if we don't leave until morning… where are we going to stay tonight?"

It was kind of amusing to see Kid's cheeks flush, and she would admit silently that she could now understand why Soul enjoyed rubbing her the wrong way so much.

* * *

**A/N: **_Dang guys, order up! 13 reviews for the last chapter, nice! This doesn't really motivate me to write, or get me to update faster, but I am very happy with the outcome for this story so far. To all the Guest reviewers, I would have loved to send you a P'M of my thanks with the song of my people... I'm just kidding, but honestly, thank you everyone for the reviews so far. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. You'll be seeing more of me soon (and of Kid and Maka of course)... :p. And in case anyone has any complaints about the lack of fluff so far, I really like to character build and I hate rushing into romance but have no fear. Oodles of fluffy goodness in the not so distant future._


	5. How Typical?

**Odds and Ends**

**How Typical?**

"Stein reserved this place?" Maka asked her tone obviously disbelieving as she stared at the building with mistrust. Kid shrugged.

"I really didn't have much part in planning anything. Stein gave me a list of contacts and who to talk to when we got here. Other than that he told me to 'Go get 'em'," Kid's monotone and fake enthused mocking of their professor didn't go well together. She refrained from rolling her eyes as she turned to give him a small glare.

"Well if you had told me that earlier I could have helped some… then we wouldn't be staying in this d—"

Kid's hand clapped firmly over her mouth, holding her close to his chest as someone stepped out of the building to greet them.

"This lovely hotel," he finished smoothly without missing a beat.

As if he was trying to write it off as a couple's thing he placed a quick kiss to her cheek making her blushing in response. She jerked away from him, glaring all the while, and made a show of wiping her face clean. To which she didn't get a reaction from either the man out front or Kid as they were already engaged in a conversation. She clutched her heart, feeling it pound in her rib cage. _Just nerves_, she told herself, _nerves and jet lag_. She glared at the back of his head, and tried to focus on the building instead. It looked like any day it could be condemned; the paint was peeling, bits of the roof had crumbled off and fell to the sidewalk below, the gutters looked rusted, and some of the numbers from the address were missing leaving their faint imprint behind. She felt a vein throb in her forehead as she stalked up to the two conversing men.

"Well?"

"We're staying here for the night," Kid assured her guiding her into the building before the man could reply. They were stopped in their tracks as a pair of keys flung at them, which Kid caught deftly.

"Third room to the right," the man barked. His voice had a thick accent of some sort, but Maka couldn't quiet peg it.

"Room?" Maka practically growled as Kid pulled her up the stairs and around the corner.

"Yes… well, I was trying to take care of that," he dismissed with a hint of his own annoyance. They had both picked up the singular usage of the word room from the caretaker. Maka cringed.

"Like it isn't typical enough…" Kid breathed out under his breath and continued to half pull her along.

She knew he didn't mean for her to catch what he had said, so she ignored it. Her mind raced at the situation. This was typical, two teens sent off to a frozen waste land to fix a blunder for a professor just to earn a little bit of extra credit in his class, and now they were going to share the same room for the night. Wasn't that in every single romance novel she had ever read? Where the heroes were trapped together in situations out of their control and they spent a romantic night together? She froze in her tracks as they stopped outside their marked door. _This situation isn't out of my control_, she thought to herself, _in fact I'm in charge of the outcome. There is no reason—_

"There is a couch though. I can crash on that," Kid's hopeful voice broke her thoughts, and timidly she stepped into the room after him.

It was dingy and saying that was a compliment. The wallpaper was outdated by at least 20 years, the carpet looked like it had mold growing on it, the room smelled stale, there looked like there were crumbs of leftover food spewed about complete with a matching pizza box on the lone coffee table, and that list wasn't even half of what Maka had to complain about.

"You can't get another room?" she growled as Kid closed the door behind him and set their bags gently on the bed. On the upside the bed looked clean and sterile; the couch that Kid had mentioned earlier was another story. Maka was scared to even peek inside the bathroom.

"Yes well I was trying to do just that. Mr. Leo doesn't take kindly to guests talking badly about his hotel… Stein said so in the note," Kid added quickly as he noticed Maka's darkening gaze and pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket as proof. "That and we are on a budget, we can't use any of the money from the academy. We're stuck solely with what Stein has given us," he flushed and looked like he was starting to sweat under Maka's stern gaze.

"I was just stating the truth. This place is a dump," Maka growled. "And what was up with that peck on my cheek earlier?" she accused, her hand shot up to rub her offended cheek and help cover the blush she was now fighting off.

"We're under cover," Kid said with an eye roll. "We're supposed to be a pair of teenagers from the States that has run off to elope. Remember?"

"I don't see the point of sticking to a cover story—"

"We can't exactly run around like academy students right now. We'll be found out quickly even with the small population," Kid interrupted with a growl. His own annoyance flared before he took a deep breath, "we won't have to worry about that once we are in the middle of nowhere. But it is better to be safe than sorry right now."

He was right. How annoying would it be if her father or someone else found them and caught them now? They hadn't even seen their objective or made it to the correct location. With a sigh Maka flopped on the bed.

"You're right… I'm just tired," she grumbled. She was actually having a hard time keeping her eyes open and the lumpy mattress was strangely appealing right now.

"Jet lag," Kid agreed. He sat wearily on the edge of the bed, as far as possible from her, as he eyed the couch with distain.

"If we're only here for a night…" Maka started noticing his distasteful look but yawning before she could finish, "you can sleep on that side," she told him pointing. It was more like half pointing, her arm refused to cooperate fully so it turned out more like a lazy flop of her arm. It was easier to just get to the heart of the matter and cut to the chase. There was no reason they couldn't be civil and share a bed. She couldn't count the times that she had fallen asleep on the couch next to Soul or Black*Star.

"That would be more symmetrical… and clean," Kid hummed mostly to himself before giving her a soft smile in gratitude. She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at his antics, but really she was just too tired to care. He gently kicked off his shoes and climbed over to the side of the offered bed, taking care not to touch her.

()()()()()()()()()()

"Maka?"

She growled and rolled away from the prodding finger. In reflex she curled, tucking the blanket around her and used the pillow as a shield from her attacker. As an added benefit the pillow also blocked the light streaming from the window.

The voice sighed, annoyed.

"Maka, get up."

It was a little more of a firm command this time, but she still growled in warning as a hand shook her. There was a quick swoosh and suddenly her blanket was gone and a soft fluffy pillow smacked against her head.

Rolling, half in surprise, and half in defense, Maka stumbled out of the bed and unto the floor in an ungraceful heap.

She glared up at the golden eyes that were studying her with amusement. She was slightly taken back at first (and used to seeing crimson eyes) before yesterday's events came back to her.

"Oh…" she blushed and stood quickly, practically leaping off the dirty floor with a cringe. She brushed her bum off fighting the imaginary dirt from her outfit from yesterday. She had been so tired she hadn't even changed her clothes. Kid looked like he had showered, and was wearing clean clothes.

"We don't have much time. You're going to have to skip a shower," he apologized. "I tried to wake you but you sleep like a log."

"Yeah… I tend to be a heavy sleeper after traveling," Maka mumbled fighting the rising blush on her cheeks.

"No worries. You'd want to skip the shower anyways. It wasn't the cleanest," he smiled lightly. He gestured for her to grab a bag and then started out of the door. Frazzled, and still fighting to wake up Maka scooped up the single bag and followed her partner.

"Where is all of our stuff?" she asked wearily as the descended the stairs.

The place looked deserted. The air itself seemed stale. Timidly she used her soul perception and noted that the place was indeed empty. She shot Kid a curious glance once they rounded to the bottom.

"Already in the cab. We have to get moving. We'll be late to the docks," he mumbled, seemingly absentmindedly he reached out and took her hand, hurrying down the steps and ushered her smoothly into the waiting cab before she could really even process it.

She let out a frustrated sigh as the cab started to drive, peeling out in the dingy parking lot and drawing a few stares from some passing joggers and by standers.

"Why didn't we just use Beezlebub?" Maka asked after a few minutes of silent driving. She stifled a yawn and turned her gaze to Kid to hear him explain.

"Yes… well. That can easily be spotted flying over populated areas. We were going for discreet," he told her with a flap of his hand. "Once we get off the charter and get out of eye sight we can use it. That leg of our journey will be much smoother," he promised.

"I'm not sure what exactly to look for… the papers were vague," Maka told him nervously.

"If you can find a witch's soul while they are purposely trying to hide it I know you can find this soul," Kid said. His hand rested on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Was it just her? Or were there something odd going on between them two of them the past few days? She had been writing it off as lack of sleep, traveling, and other stressful events. Without the constant presences of their friends butting in and pulling their short conversations away from each other she was starting to notice that they both just sort of clicked. She was very at ease around Kid and this trip was no different. She liked being around him and he was her friend. She didn't know why she had been freaking out so much beforehand. It had to have been the lack of sleep…

Her heart thumped a little fast as his hand moved from her shoulder and down her arm for a fraction of a second before he pulled away.

No, she wasn't used to this. Was that a signal of some type? Was he trying to reassure her? She raised her gaze to meet his only to have him avert his golden eyes out the window to watch the scenery. His cheeks tainted with a faint hint of red. Was she seeing things now too? There was no way he was blushing. This was Death the Kid!

Was that the reason? Was it because she wasn't used to being touched like this? She normally was the meister, so touching Soul in reassurance or restraint was something she was used to doing to others. She normally wasn't on the receiving end. She hugged her friends, gave high fives in reassurance, but under those circumstances it was her that gave that attention to people. Maybe it was alien to her when he touched her because of this. She was just nervous because he was treating her like a weapon and she wasn't sure if she could pull through for him on this mission. No, that wasn't quite it.

Her thoughts from the night before came back to her. She had been anxious, nervous even; when she had found out they would be sharing the room for the night. She had thought he would have pulled some type of move on her, and now she felt bad for her thoughts. Kid wasn't like that. He would never take advantage of her; he cared for her as a good friend just like she did for him. Only… only his hands were really warm. She liked when he grabbed her hand to pull her in the right direction. She kind of liked not having to analyze every little thing and let him take charge of this mission (although it had really only been a day so far). With that thought came another, and she was suddenly very aware of their future sleeping arrangements. She felt her cheeks flush as she suddenly became very embarrassed over how she had been woken up this morning.

There weren't many lines between weapons and meisters. Nothing was ever really kept secret when the person closest to you had access to your every thought and feeling at some point. Last night could have been extremely awkward and intimate. Yet he hadn't touched her at all during the night. Was that normal? Even if there was no romantic situation between her and Soul she had woken up countless of times in his arms. No… this wasn't because they were now partners. This was different, yet she couldn't place her finger on it.

He wasn't being inappropriate but he wasn't just touching her because she was his weapon. It was friendly and innocent, yes. But maybe it was simply because they were never alone like this she had never noticed it. It wasn't awkward or alarming, but it gave her room to wonder about it. He was touching her because he wanted to.

Absorbed in her thoughts Maka didn't even notice when the car finally slowed to a stop.

"We have one month from today," Kid said with a deep breath.

He had somehow managed to wrestle her attention back to him when he spoke. She looked at her surroundings through the window nervously, and then grabbed the handle to the cab door. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she shot Kid a weary smile. It was almost like he was nervous as well judging by the small twitch of his hands and the deep breath he took a moment ago, but she dismissed it. She rarely saw Kid with any type of emotion and now was no different. They were a good match, calm and collected.

"29 days, Stein said he started counting the day we left," she corrected pushing the door open and taking a step out.

She wasn't aware of how long she had been silent in that tiny car. Her voice cracked slightly from misuse and her body protested as she moved her limbs to stretch. Kid was at her side and ushering her towards the docks.

The air was colder here, and she was thankful that she was still dressed in jeans and a turtle neck from the long flight yesterday. Her boots clopped along the wood as she scooped up her bags and made her way after Kid towards the charter they had hired.

"Three days and I'll have you guys at the designated drop spot. Be back there in 20 days or I'll leave you to your fate," the man that Maka assumed was the captain barked at them as they made their way on board. He was the same man Kid had talked to the day before. She frowned and shot a look towards Kid who smiled happily.

"Oh don't give me that look," he said easily as he tossed his bag over and hopped aboard the ship. "Aren't you the type to turn in an extra credit assignment in early?"

"I think you are having too much fun already," she grumbled and followed after him.

The clock was ticking, subtracting travel time that they now had to allow for this one way part of the journey, they now had 26 days to get this assignment done. At least she hoped they had that instead of 23 days, she wasn't too happy about the slow travel this boat had to offer.

"I hope you two don't mind getting comfortable in this tiny cabin," the captain said pointing towards a tiny door just below deck. "It'll be a long three days otherwise."

"Oh I'm sure we'll find something to amuse us," Kid said with a grin.

The captain roared in laughter at that as he took in the queer couple before him. In his eyes they passed for exactly what they were going for, an eloping couple. It might have been from how close Kid seemed to stand next to her, or how he would quickly maneuver so that he could carry her bags as she struggled into the room offered to them. It might have even been the way he was purposely brushing against her when there was no reason to do so. Whatever it was, a small part of their mission was completed as they fooled everyone around them into thinking that they were a couple on the run. And it was lost on Maka until she heard the captain's reply to Kid's comment. She had been blissfully unaware of how important this role was in the first stage of their journey, and she cursed every god she could think of as she stood there dumbly trying to fight a blush from her cheeks.

"Aye, lad, I'm sure you will," he gruffed.

The joking and exchanged winks made her want to gag as she finally realized why Kid had been so keen on her not talking to strangers. That the two were joking… sexually, her face lit up in a blush she had been fighting so hard to conceal. It was a side of Kid she had never seen and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

The peck on the cheek, the hand holding, the cover up as a couple… she hated this. She didn't like hearing Kid say things like that to strangers; it just didn't seem like him. This had to be why she was so uncomfortable for the past few days. She stomped over to her room and glared at Kid over her shoulder.

"You wish," she half snarled and slammed the door behind her.

Oh Death, were all men such perverts?

* * *

**A/N: **_A whole month! I would rant an apology to you guys now but surely this update makes up for it? :p. I'm so pleased with the feedback and amount of reviews this story has been getting, I'm truly flattered! I wasn't being sarcastic when I said I was amazed by the 13 reviews for that one chapter and yet the last one got 16 all by itself! You guys are amazing! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story. If you are following my other works I promise they will be updated soon! I had most of this chapter done and only had to type a few paragraphs. See I sprained my wrist so unfortunately I've been forced to bed rest... without my computer. Other than that I'll be back to writing soon!_


	6. Pleasantly Surprised?

**Odds and Ends**

**Pleasantly Surprised?**

There was a quiet knock on the door that Maka was sorely tempted to ignore. She glanced around the tiny room for a distraction. Her clothes were neatly folded and put away, the small desk was cleared of rubbish, a few precious books were stacked neatly in the order she wished to read them, and her bed was made. There wasn't a single excuse to use to get her guest to go away, and it made her dread answering it.

The past day on board the ship had been extremely awkward. She even avoided dinner because the lewd jokes had become a bit too much for her to handle. She might be a bit on the prude side, but she was sure this was crossing the line for even normal people. Kid, however, seemed to be taking it in stride and would shyly tease her in front of the other crew members and the captain. This led to even more awkward encounters between the two of them that was fueled with tense silence and normally wound up with her slamming the door in his face.

She couldn't comprehend Kid's behavior, because this was just so unlike him. He was good at getting along with everyone but he was always the gentleman. It was alien to see him like this. The worst part was that it wasn't completely out of character, at least he still was polite about everything, and he would always smile secretively at her after he said something. She might just be blowing this out of proportion but she was horribly uncomfortable.

_Maybe because you wouldn't mind some of the things they suggest_? Chirped a voice inside her.

She cringed and sighed. Folding her book in her lap she glared at the door, where she had yet to hear any retreating footsteps.

_Everything they have suggested has been nothing but sex, I _would_ mind all of that_, she told the voice. She could have sworn she heard laughing and it was definitely mocking her. To distract her inner conflict she went to the door and cracked to see who had come to call.

She wasn't surprised to see Kid, but the tray of food he was holding in his hands did humble her. His words of having to play the part of an eloped couple came back to her, and she forced herself to smile politely at him. Her stomach rumbled as the smell of the delicious waffles and bacon wafted up to her nose.

Kid's brow rose as he timidly returned her smile.

"Peace offering?" he said lifting the tray up higher to show the wonderful treat.

She had skipped dinner the night before… and she was rather hungry. This would save her the trouble of having to venture out for breakfast and be the mock of the crew yet again. With just one more day left before they reached the shore Maka knew she should probably be savoring hot meals and a warm bed as much as possible.

She opened the door a little more and gestured for him to come in. He smiled appreciatively and closed the door behind him. He handed her the tray as they both took a seat on the bed, for there was nowhere else to sit in the tiny cabin. Both teens seemed awkwardly avoiding how close they had sat down next to each other, yet neither one moved. Maka timidly dug into the plate before her, trying to push the tense silence from the room with the scrape of her fork against her plate and chewing a little louder than normal.

She gave Kid a cheeky grin when she noticed the disdain on his face as he watched her eat (she knew when she was this hungry it wasn't exactly an elegant sight to behold) and offered him a forkful.

"Want some?" she cooed, making sure to swallow first so as not to be _too_ rude.

"I'm fine, thanks," he declined.

The tense silence overcame them again as Maka resumed eating. Kid fiddled with his hands in his lap, his golden gaze trained on the adjacent wall with what looked like faint interest.

"Well this is unbelievably awkward," Maka teased after a few more mouthfuls. She grinned in hopes of easing the tension, which turned awkward and faded away as Kid glanced at her.

"I would have to agree," he was as polite as ever, poised and collected, yet he looked just as uncomfortable as she felt at the moment.

"Maybe we just don't click as partners," she started quietly. She placed the fork and knife down slowly so that they didn't clatter against the wood tray. She cast her eyes downward and fought the burn on her cheeks.

It was something she had thought a few times now. Maybe she wasn't fit to be a weapon. After all she was an excellent meister. She had even beaten the witch Arachne, she wasn't weak so the excuse couldn't possibly be that.

"Our souls are quite compatible. All the times we have fought together is proof enough," Kid said dismissing her notion. "I think it might be something else… this is a touchy subject… but I feel like this can't be avoided… one of us is attracted to the other."

At this Kid's face lit up in a deep blush but his gaze didn't move from hers. She would have missed it, but she could see the stain out of the corner of her eye and in surprise she looked up at him.

Her stomach dropped and she felt the color drain from her face.

She had been trying to deny it since they had left; they were only four days into their mission for crying out loud! But the way Kid phrased it left no doubt in her mind. He had picked up on her nerves and was interrupting them as feelings for him. She would have been mad, only the anger wasn't there. Was she that transparent? She couldn't even find the words to respond. Her felt like lead as she studied the boy in front of her. What do you say when your partner brings up this conversation? She remembered having a similar one with Soul a long time ago, but they had been partners for a while and they were able to talk through it. They felt nothing but strong admiration for one another and they would always be best friends.

Despite being friends with Kid… she didn't know every little detail about his life. They barely scratched the surface on things like what they had in common and little inside jokes. And matching soul wavelengths with another meister during a fight was a lot different than matching soul wavelengths with a weapon partner. Partners had to have a closer connection and both had to be totally in sync, otherwise it could be dangerous to go out on missions together and having something go wrong. Look at all the trouble that happened when she and Soul weren't on the same wavelength…

So she understood the need for this conversation. This was a lot more dangerous than missions that were handed out at the DWMA and they both needed to be in top shape mentally and physically to come back unscathed. Maka sucked in a deep breath.

"Or it could be the fact that I haven't been able to master being a weapon while conscious," she chirped in what she hoped sounded light and not nearly as faint as she felt.

She wasn't stupid, but at the moment she didn't want to think that she could possibly be harboring feelings for Lord Death's son. It wasn't on the priority list, so it could wait until a later time.

Kid was silent for a moment before he let out a small sigh, "We need to find a way to conquer that before we get off this ship. As strong as I am without a weapon it will really help to have you by my side and able to fight once we reach land."

"Did you bring some books on the matter?" she asked hopefully.

"Actually, I read up on the subject before we left. I figured it could come in handy," he smiled at her and relaxed slightly, making himself comfortable on the bed.

He scooted straight back on the bed so that his back was pressed firmly against the wall and let his legs drape slightly over the side of her bed (they were perfectly symmetrical in distance, rest assured). She hadn't really noticed how tall Kid was before then. He had to be close to 6 feet if not over it, and dwarfed her tiny 5'5 frame. She settled next to him only moved the pillow behind her head so that she could lean at an angle instead of the uncomfortable position he looked like he was in. Their arms brushed against each other's as they both moved to cross their arms over their chests at the same time. Instead of fretting of where to look Maka let her head lean back and let her eyes slide shut. She missed the warm grin that Kid gave her as he watched her get settled next to him.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded in response.

_That was nice_, she thought before Kid took a deep breath. Just then they had been in sync without words to describe what the other wanted. Maka had just known that Kid was going to fill her in on everything and that it would take a while. Partnership between the two of them didn't seem as hopeless as it had earlier that morning.

"This will come in handy with what Stein was lecturing us about a few weeks ago. It's a little more advanced so I don't want to explain too much in case I phrase something wrong," Kid started.

"I doubt you would…"

"More than likely you wouldn't had you read it, but I'm not as studious as you," Kid teased and nudged her shoulder with his hand. For a moment his hand lingered, her eyes fluttered open to study him. He had a serious look on his face but he was staring at the wall with a frown and hadn't noticed her glance. She let her eyes slide shut as his hand moved away from her.

"But I'll try my best," he continued, "Souls have a direct influence on which genes are used by meisters and weapons. Take for instance, Soul… he had recessive genes that linked him to the weapon line, but his family has been famous for other means. They have begun to use those other talents and so over time their 'weapon' genes have become recessive. There hasn't been another weapon in his family in 3 generations. Soul wanted a different path than what his family had laid out before him. He sought something within himself that would make him different. He actually activated his genes subconsciously at first as well. Once the genes are awoken they can be called upon at any time. So even though it skipped a few generations Soul still had the genes to be a weapon and his goal to always be stronger was so fascinating. Father wanted a few written pieces from him about why he strove so hard to become a Death Scythe at such a young age. Because at first, Father thought that weapon activation was more of a physiological thing.

"With what Soul told us at first that went along with the physiological aspect. We thought that his strife to become a Death Scythe was fueled with problems at home. We hadn't even thought of the standpoint of genetics… until Soul pointed out that he only became a weapon once he hit puberty. He had wanted to escape from his family for a while and the form hadn't come until he turned 13. He wanted to become a Death Scythe to better protect you because he was worried about you. He didn't like seeing you take hits, and that made him worry. He wanted to be able to move on his own in his weapon form, and he admired Justin and other Death Scythe's for their lack of partners because of that.

"That's where this gets interesting. Weapons can all technically be meisters. Liz and Patty for example can use each other's soul wavelengths to fight a foe on their own if I'm not around but they are a lot more powerful when they have a full-fledged meister or someone that they can work well with. That is why there are some Death Scythes that can operate fully on their own without a meister or even some regular weapons as well. It is just a power factor that they work better with more energy.

"They awaken their genes on their own though. That power is always recessive until a certain age or it is sought out. You have half weapon genes and they were recessive. But you have accidentally awoken them in a fight before…"

Kid took a deep breath to pause.

"Confused yet?" he asked.

"No, I'm following you," Maka smiled faintly.

"Are you asleep?" he taunted waving his hand lazily in front of her face.

"Wide awake," she answered and this time opened her eyes to blink a few times at him. He smiled softly back at her. Both used the small silence to admire the others features before Kid seemed to realize that he was doing so and coughed lightly.

Clearing his throat he continued, "Basically it is genetic. We just need to figure out what gene it is and how to reach it. Since you are half weapon you actually should have an easier time reaching this form than others who have skipped several generations."

"I appreciate the long-winded response for my learning benefit," Maka laughed.

She really did appreciate him telling her all of that. Kid was the only one out their friends that understood that she actually _**liked**_ to learn. Grades were important but knowledge was a powerful tool. She liked to have as many as she possibly could.

She rolled to face him, and he stuck his tongue out at her before chuckling softly with her. She sat up and lightly punched Kid in the arm. She had done so just a week before they had left so she felt like in this situation it would be a good-natured sign to show that they were back on track with where they should be in their friendship. Only she would have lightly punched him in the arm. When she extended her arm to do so her hand skimmed her intended target and she found herself falling forward so that she landed face first into his chest.

She winced and waited for the 'Maka, you klutz!' line that she normally got. She regretted it when Kid didn't move away from her. _No wonder he thinks you like him!_ her mind screamed. Fighting a blush she moved back slightly.

**Sorry.**

At least that was what she would have said. For some reason the words seemed to freeze on her lips as she caught sight of Kid's golden eyes darkening and his face blushing. His gaze shot down discreetly at her lips and she found herself doing the same. They were pretty nice for a boy's lips, they looked full and plump… which she wasn't sure why that would matter… her thoughts were lost on her in the span of seconds. Before she had time to remove herself Kid's hands had caught her wrists, making her fall forward and her chest fell into his. Her neck fell back in reflex so that their heads didn't smash together and she found herself staring at him in shock. If it hadn't been awkward before, now it definitely was. Electricity seemed to dance in the air around them, as she inhaled sharply. The deep breath, intended to clear her mind, seemed to fog her vision. Her head swam as Kid's scent infiltrated her senses.

He had an earthy smell to him. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact it reminded her of fall or for some odd reason Halloween. There was a spice to the scent. She leaned closer, intoxicated in the aroma before, wide-eyed, she realized just how close their faces were.

Was she moving forward or was he?

Their lips were barely a centimeter apart when a loud bang came from the door.

Both teens leaped apart, blushing furiously and fiddling with their hair and clothes as Maka called out an answer to the door, "Yes?"

She hoped her voice didn't seem too strained as the boisterous Captain laughed from the outside.

"You two have been in there an awfully long time. I know you guys made up from the other night so I hope I'm not interrupting any make up… talking… but the crew wanted to see if you two would like to come to dinner with us?"

Had they really been inside all day talking? It hadn't felt like an entire day, it felt like a few hours!

"We'll be right out Jack," Kid called calmly. "We were just finishing breakfast together."

There was a loud laugh and retreating footsteps in answer.

"Is that code for some type of innuendo?" Maka asked not even bothering to fight the blush. Kid smirked and stood from the bed.

"Not unless you want it to be."

"Now really!" she started, moving to throw the pillow at him. He dodged it smoothly and chuckled.

"Fine, it wasn't. You do realize that I came in around 1 right? It has been several hours."

"Oh…" she breathed. She wasn't ready when the pillow was flung back into her face and she fell into the bed. Kid snorted at what was sure to have been a ridiculous expression from her, before he busted into a fit of laughter.

It felt good that despite whatever had happened a few moments ago, they felt like something between them was patched up. They were still going to be friends after this mission.

()()()()()()()(KiMa)()()()()()()()

"About last night…" Maka started as they crossed into the small shared cabin. "I'm really sorry I slammed the door and avoided you all day. I should have at least let you come in here with me to sleep," she said sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

Last night she hadn't let him in, and she had spent the better part of the day avoiding him before he had come to see her today. She wasn't sure where he wound up sleeping, and for that she felt pretty guilty. _He must be tired, and yet he doesn't even look like it_, she thought to herself.

"You were upset. It is understandable," Kid told her with a shrug. He paced into the room.

Much like the first night back at the hotel Kid offered to take the floor, since the crew was positive that the two teens were 'together' they hadn't bothered to offer them an extra bed or a cot for Kid to sleep on.

Dinner had been a rather long and drawn out event. The crew was loud and teased the two 'love birds' about their quarrel, although Maka got the feeling that they had been lectured by someone, because even the teasing of the captain was way less intense. She knew it was for her benefit to ease her tension with them, but it made her less comfortable than before. She still appreciated the effort, and did her best to ignore the comments when they did bother her. It had left her drained, and had the roles been reversed she wouldn't have been too happy to sleep on the hard ground to top it off.

She slid on to the floor and stole the pillow that Kid had been about to occupy.

"You take the bed tonight," she told him. It was her way of making this less awkward and her own peace-offering to him.

"I can't let you sleep on the floor. You'll move and throw off the symmetry of the room," Kid said bending down he pulled her to her feet with ease and pushed her towards the bed.

"You slept…"

"Outside. It was refreshing," he finished for her with a grin. "I don't need a bed Maka. You should get some rest. We'll be landing in the morning sometime and we'll have a long few days after that."

"Yes, but I feel awful! I won't be able to sleep and I'll just toss and make the bed all unsymmetrical," she snarled, planting her feet firmly on the ground she pushed back against Kid's grip on her shoulders.

Kid's brow twitched. He sighed and dropped his hands to his side as he gave her a rather hard look.

"I don't want to spend the night arguing with you. Just get into the bed Maka."

"No. You deserve to get a night's sleep. I can rough it out for a night."

"You need to search within yourself and figure out how to get your weapon form. You should get a good night's sleep to do that."

"We can practice in the morning… together. Maybe if we match soul wavelengths you'll be able to help me… but that is beside the point Kid. You should take the bed. I can sleep just as well on the floor!"

"This is ridiculous," Kid sighed and threw his hands into his hair in frustration.

It was interesting because as he ruffled his bangs he seemed to realize that he made them uneven and spent several minutes ignoring her and fixing them so that they were perfect again. He was somehow able to ignore the most unsymmetrical thing about himself, the white Sanzu lines, and sat down calmly on the floor in front of the mirror to do so. She found herself chuckling despite herself.

"Kid… just take the bed. I'll feel better if you do," she said.

Like he had been doing to her lately, she found her hand coming to rest on top of his shoulder. She gave him a gentle squeeze in encouragement and gestured to the bed when he looked up at her.

"I'll feel worse if I take the bed…" he mumbled.

It was silent for several long minutes.

"Well… we have shared a bed before," Maka started briskly. Kid turned to face the mirror, fixing his hair so that it fell perfectly across his forehead.

"We have…"

Was it the fact that they almost kissed earlier? Was that why this subject was so… awkward…?

"So we can do it again. It isn't like we are doing anything inappropriate," she said it firmly, and smacked her fist into her palm as if that settled the matter. She ignored the fact that her heart seemed to thump wildly against her chest at the suggestion.

As they both climbed into the tiny bed both realized that this would not be like the first time they had shared a bed. For one, the bed was half the size of the first, and there was practically no where the other could escape to without touching the other. The almost kiss seemed to hang in the air between them as they bade each other quick good nights and rolled so that their backs were pressed against one another.

* * *

**A/N: **_Is Kid horribly out of character? I feel like I'm not getting him right... but then again I'm trying not to show too much with what is going on inside his head so you guys get the story mostly from Maka's perspective... I was debating on scrapping the entire chapter... but I'm in love with one of the scenes... can you guess which one? Hahaha. Until next time~_


	7. It's Complicated?

**A/N:** _Hey guys… I'm going off of what the internet has implied their ages to be during the manga… so for that this story is now future based because I want some of the themes to be a little more mature. I'll mention how old Kid and Maka are later but here are their ages from _**before this story**_ that I am using._

Maka- 14  
Soul- 15  
Kid- 16  
Black Star- 15  
Tusbaki- 17  
Liz- 18  
Patti- 16

_**Add about 3 years to everyone's age for the time line of this story! Making Kid 19 and Maka 17**_

_Hope this wasn't confusing! Now onwards to the fic! Tehehe_

**Odds and Ends**

**It's Complicated?**

_His heated stare sent shivers down her spine. Did she always react to men this way? She could never recall _ever feeling_ this feeling that he was giving her right this moment. It was an odd mixture, and being unable to pinpoint what it was exactly left her anxious and nervous. The other two emotions caused her to lower her gaze away from his smoldering eyes, and she fought hard with the blush that threatened to overtake her. It wasn't men, it was because it was him, and the realization made it that much worse. _

_Did he have to be leaning forward so that she was pinned against the wall? They were in private, there wasn't anyone around for miles, and yet they were practically touching he was so close. In fact if she leaned forward just a little this would be more of an embrace than anything else. _

"_You aren't an idiot, Maka," he whispered as his hand caught under her chin and forced her to look up at him. _

_Her knees felt weak…_

_What exactly had they been talking about again? His lips were suddenly very close and inviting—_

She awoke with a start. Instinctually she moved away from the warm body that was beside her, and that sent her tumbling to the ground. Her head hit the wood flooring first and her body followed suit. The blankets spiraled with her and pulled the other beds resident, Kid, down as well. There was a disgruntled oof out of both teens before several curse words and a few bumped noses later they were able to free themselves.

At least free of the blanket, but not quite each other as their legs and arms were somehow still entangled.

Maka found herself being pinned beneath Kid, under normal circumstances she would have pushed him off and at least screamed something. But the remnants of the dream haunted her and she couldn't bring herself to catch his gaze, let alone touch him.

"Are you okay?"

Kid's hands found their way under her chin as he inspected her for injury. The residual feelings left from the dream had her stomach rolling nervously as her thoughts taunted her with situations that could happen in the position they were in. She pulled out of his grasp and scooted so that she wasn't underneath him, all the while nodding vigorously.

"Sorry about that…" she mumbled.

She stood and grabbed the crumbled blankets, tossing them onto the bed she turned and offered Kid a hand to right himself. She was fine, and she hoped her actions proved that. However, her mind was racing as the strong sense of déjà vu overcame her.

"Bad dream?" he questioned.

His voice sounded groggy, like he was fighting off sleep. To her it was almost cute sounding, not that she would ever voice that out loud. She shook her head, knowing he couldn't see that well in the dark room before hurriedly climbing back into bed. Her hope was that it would stop any further questions about dreams or what had just happened.

The sun had yet to rise, but it would soon be light. Neither teen had yet been able to adjust to the time difference, and both were normally early risers (not that it mattered too much but both wanted an excuse to crawl back into bed to ignore the situation). Kid crept back to the edge of the bed beside her. Neither of them were going to be able to fall back asleep, yet they both wanted to ignore the now awkward atmosphere. Kid, having followed her, did an awkward limbo trying to crawl over Maka without touching her, before giving up with a sigh and sat down next to her.

Maka sighed dejectedly before answering Kid's earlier question, the thick silence becoming too awkward for her to bear any longer, "No. It was just very realistic."

Kid hummed and scooted closer so that he resided beside her.

"Those are the worst," he commented.

Again silence overcame them.

Kid let out a breath.

"Maka… I think I need to talk to you about something."

Did he know what she dreamed about? That wasn't some weird Death God thing was it? Panic made her freeze up as his hand rested on her shoulder. She flinched at the contact, thankful for the darkness so that the look escaped Kid, and turned to face him. As she did so Kid's grip on her shoulder slid down her arm and pulled her to his chest.

She hadn't been expecting that, nor did she expect that her arms would react and encircle him in response. Without words both teens held on tightly to one another, knowing that the next few words spoken were going to change things indefinitely for them and between them. Did he have to call her out on her feelings so soon? He almost had last night, and she was sure that was what had led to her dream and the now rude awakening her subconscious had decided to give her. She hadn't really analyzed them to the extent where she felt comfortable talking about them with someone else. She suddenly wished Soul was here, not for any romantic reason, but just so they could talk about what she was feeling for Kid. He had teased her right before she left for her mission with Kid and she had dismissed it as nothing. Now it seemed her partner had understood her feelings before she had even noticed them. She had relied on him so much in the past and he had helped her grow so much as a person the sudden alien feeling of being alone overcame her. How was she supposed to go about this? When she had problems with Soul they normally turned into screaming matches, although it was normally out of worry for one another… how was she supposed to react with Kid? They didn't have the same type of partnership, and their friendship and wavelengths matched easily. Could she handle getting yelled at by Kid for her feelings? She wasn't sure… but the she knew she was about to find out. She grimaced and braced herself as she listened to his steady heartbeat. She swallowed hard as Kid took a deep breath and pulled her away so that they were facing one another. Her hands fell limply at her sides as she stared hard at the blanket that had managed to bunch its way between them. His hands caught her chin again and forced her to look up, causing a strange pulling sensation in her abdomen.

He didn't say anything at first. His golden eyes looked eerie in the light provided and he looked paler than she could ever remember him being. _He is handsome_, she thought with another swallow. What was he thinking right now? She glanced down at his lips, trying to get a more detailed picture of his facial expression, and realized that he was leaning forward. Their foreheads rested against one another as his eyes peered into hers. She felt like he could see right through her.

His hands tangled themselves in her pigtails as his eyes slid shut.

"I can't help myself…," he mumbled almost to himself before he continued. His eyes scrunched together as if he couldn't get them to shut tight enough, "I thought I could handle this… but we," he paused in his struggle and took a deep breath, "… I can't keep dancing around it… I've had a crush on you for some time now, Miss Albarn," he whispered. His cheeks grew hot with his words and she felt the heat radiate on to her cheeks.

Had things been different the past few days, this news would have left her with her jaw hanging on the floor in shock. However, since the weird atmosphere between them since they began this journey she was only mildly surprised. She had thought he was going to confront her about her attitude, not that he might have contributed to some of the rising tension because of his own feelings. She couldn't think of an appropriate way to respond as he held his breath waiting for her answer.

She was 17 for crying out loud, and Kid was 19. It wasn't like they were the children they had once been. However, she could still recognize that she was young. It was a very foreign feeling to her, being forced to recognize that she was still a kid in many ways. She was normally mature, confident, easy-going, and head strong. The past few days weren't a good example of her character and she cringed at how she had acted, now was the perfect time to implement her self-image and show Kid that they could handle this with no problem.

Her heart thundered loudly in her chest to the point where she could feel it slamming against her ribcage. Her palms started to sweat, and her breath became short.

"What?" she squeaked.

_MAKA, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!_ Her mind screamed. _You go on a mini vacation inside your mind to collect yourself and all you can come up with is WHAT? Are you serious?_

Kid looked better than her, and moved so that he wasn't in her space as much. The color that had stained his cheeks darkened slightly but it was hard to tell in the faint light. His hands were folded neatly in his lap as he gazed hard at the floor.

"I must've misread your nervousness, I'm sorry," he grumbled sheepishly, bowing his head lower. "I thought that maybe…" he sucked in a breath. "Anyways… that had to be put on the table. We can't have you going into weapon mode without us having complete trust in each other."

"I trust you," she said quickly. "In fact Kid… I kind of… have noticed that I … have errmmm… felt differently around you lately," she managed to stumble out. It was her turn to glare hard at the floor as Kid's surprised gaze shot up to study her.

It was quiet for several moments before he let out a soft chuckle.

"I see," he whispered.

She was tempted to lean forward and catch him in a kiss but something was stopping her. They weren't supposed to be doing this… Her mother and father had broken the taboo of weapons and miesters becoming intimate, but hardly anyone had fallen suit since then. Black Star and Tsubaki were about as close as it had come to happening again, and even then the two seemed oblivious to each other's feelings. But… she wasn't a weapon, at least not a full one. Half the reason they were on this mission was to awaken her potential so she could be even more of an asset to Lord Death and protect herself for when she was ever in a situation where she was without her weapon. There were so many enemies that wanted her dead because of her soul perception ability… it was safer for her to learn as many other abilities as well. She wasn't a full weapon, so that wasn't what was stopping her. What stopped her was the fact that Kid was a Lord of Death. He would one day take his father's place… and where did that leave her?

It was a bit early to think of things like that, yet Maka was always one to think of every situation first before she acted. With her battles she had dropped analyzing so much and started acting on her gut feeling, but she still thought things through. This was just like her to think first and she sort of cursed herself for it. She wanted to lean up and kiss Kid. The realization startled her, and she wondered what Kid would do… She had never been a love-sick fool who fell head over heels at someone's confession… She bit her lip hard and glanced at the floor. She was such an idiot. Of course she wasn't supposed to feel like this for Kid. To top it off they hadn't even been away from home for a week, and they hadn't even reached their destination yet…

She sort of wanted to curl up in the blankets and bang her head repeatedly from the embarrassment she now felt.

Kid's hand fell onto her shoulder, and started to rub soothing circles.

"We can figure it out later. Relax Maka, your soul is going all haywire," he breathed.

He must feel just as awkward. Hadn't he told her that he has had a crush on her for a while? Now that she thought back on it, there were a lot of times when she caught him looking at her in class, or hung back to catch a few words with her in the hall ways. Often times when they were with their friends he hung back to sit beside her on movie night or something else like that, but she had never really thought much of it. She had always enjoyed his company as a friend. She nervously reached out and clasped his hand in her own.

She was known for dropping corny lines, and she knew that if she said what she was thinking out loud it would be just that, corny. She refrained and took a deep breath before smiling up at her friend. Harding her resolve she –

His lips caught hers in a tender kiss. His lips were cool and moist. Her eyes widened for a moment before she relaxed and leaned into him. His hands caught her pig tails again and he pulled gently causing her head to tilt up. His tongue shot out nervously and his teeth scraped against her bottom lip. She started to move her hands, willing them not to shake, onto his chest. She pulled his collar so he was closer, as their kiss grew a little more heated. She didn't grant him access inside her mouth, instead she decided to mimic him, and nipped at his bottom lip as well. Soon the butterfly kisses were too teasing for them both, as Kid finally pulled them apart.

"I had to just once," he mumbled sheepishly.

She found herself nodding in acceptance but she didn't trust her voice to speak. She wasn't sure exactly what she would say at this moment, but she didn't want to come off as harsh on accident. They both seemed to silently agree that more sleep was needed, as they laid down next to each other, this time Kid turned and draped his arm across her stomach, and used his other to entangle in her hair. She found her legs throwing themselves over his and her hands curled under his chin. In a matter of seconds both teens fell back asleep. Maka secretly wished that when she woke up again, that it hadn't been a dream, and she was grateful to find hours later, that it hadn't been.

()()()()()()()(KiMa)()()()()()()()()

"Thank you for your hospitality," Kid told the captain as they pushed off with a small dingy.

Maka had the ores, despite Kid's protests, because she felt like using her body. Being cooped up on a boat for three days hadn't given her the exercise she normally got, and her muscles felt stiff from no use. She was using it as a good opportunity to use them and row them to shore.

"You two were rather interesting," the Captain replied.

He waved them off, no further words being exchanged. Soon the boat started back in the direction it had come, and Maka rowed to the shore.

The cool water occasionally splashed up and the breeze was chilling. A little afternoon she managed to get them to the shore, and despite the cool breeze and water, she was sweating. Kid hauled the boat up with ease as he gave her a worried look. The captain and his crew were now tiny dots on the horizon, sailing slower than normal as they fought the current back towards their home.

"Well we are now on our own. Our objective is to find Franken Stein's monster and detain it for him for further experimentation as well as unlock your full potential as a weapon."

Maka nodded at Kid's trivial explanation before closing her eyes.

"The boat is about 7 miles out now. They are the nearest life forms. There seems to be something large about 15 to 20 miles inland. It definitely isn't human," she told him after a moment.

He smiled at her.

"I think I'll always be impressed with how good your soul perception is," he told her. He offered his hand out to her as he pulled he pulled his board out of his bag and jumped on it quickly. She accepted his hand and positioned herself so that she was almost pig back riding him, clinging on to his back as she tried to awkwardly hold all their luggage.

"I think we'll make camp at that abandoned cabin Stein was talking about before checking out the life form. Ready?" he asked. He didn't wait for her reply, as he shot into the sky with his board and zoomed in what she hoped was the right direction.

As annoying as the slow traveling had been, she had been thankful for the few days of respite. She kind of hated flying at neck breaking speeds over very hard looking rocks; not that she would tell Kid that any time soon. Beelzebub was his favorite method of travel and it didn't look like he was going to give it up anytime soon. She would have to trust him to not drop her and kill her as they flew over glaciers and gritty rocks. She settled for holding him onto him as tightly as she could manage, and was thankful when the board finally stopped. Flying wasn't unnerving for her, but the speed and lack of control did.

When they finally stopped Maka had to refrain from letting out a violent curse.

The shack wasn't much better than what she imagined. It looked well enough to keep the cold out, as there weren't any holes or significant damage to the building, but it was as small as their hotel room had been. It at least was bigger than the cabin they had shared on board the boat. The partners walked up to the door, where Kid pulled out a key and opened the door with ease.

"Isn't that the key from the hotel?" Maka asked. Suddenly remembering that Kid had never returned the keys and they had left the first place in a hurry. He smiled in response.

"Nice catch," he told her opening the door wider and helping her with the few bags they had. "Stein said to hang on to them; it was in the instructions… although I don't know why he would bother locking this place up…"

"Obviously so the bears don't get in?" Maka teased. Her spirit lightened considerably at seeing the interior.

There was a homey feeling to the place. Maka was instantly at ease, as the place seemed to reflect her favorite professor's home. Stitches lined the walls, there was a pair of cots in the corner that were extremely close together, but (again were covered in stitches) were far enough from each other that if one of them rolled over they would fall onto the floor instead of the others bed. There was a door to the left, which looked like it was a bathroom. Double doors to their right that, when opened, showed a disarray of lab coats and closet space. The kitchen was connected to the small space, but a half wall gave it the feeling of another room. There weren't any dishes, just an assortment of beakers and test tubes. There was a small couch, with a small book shelf next to it, and a coffee table.

That made up their entire living space.

"Yes well I doubt a bear could fit in this place," Kid said drily as he took off his coat and hung it in the closet. Maka let a giggle and inhaled deeply.

The room smelled like home. She always admired her professor, and often thought of him almost as a godfather or an uncle. She would never admit that, but that was how she felt. This small chunk of home eased her and she felt more comfortable now than she had for days. She smiled brightly at Kid.

"Aren't you hungry for some lunch? I'm sure Stein stocked the place with food for us," she told him. Kicking off her boots and mimicking Kid with her coat to the closet she made her way inside. She found a Bunsen burner and was surprised to find a toaster. She made them some coffee and heated up some pastry like thing she found in the pantry.

Residing on the couch, the partners ate their lunch quickly both had forgotten that they hadn't eaten yet that day and feeling the hunger overtake them. It wasn't until after they ate that Maka realized how close they were sitting and she took a sip of coffee to distract herself.

"I don't think we should check out that life form," Kid said after a moment. His eyes were closed as he scrunched up his nose in distaste. "We should practice soul resonating."

She was going to protest, tell him that the sooner they found the monster the sooner they could get home. That was just too easy though, and she bit her lip from speaking out. It was hard… having to be the partner and go along with everything Kid said. She had to protect him above all else, and running off to fight an enemy when only Kid could fight was downright foolish. They were both amazing meisters but they still weren't sure what they were even up against.

"I want to practice being a weapon," she told him making up her mind with a nod to herself.

"That's what the soul resonance is for. I'll help you," he smiled. He offered his hand and pulled her up to stand.

Only when he pulled her up he did so with more force than he needed and she found herself colliding with his chest for the second time that day. Their earlier morning burned inside her and left her weak kneed. She couldn't move, and she cursed herself for it. She inhaled sharply and was bombarded by his growing familiar scent. His golden eyes seemed to soften, his hand warmer than normal as it rested on her cheek, and his lips… so inviting.

"_I see you two made it to the shack."_

* * *

**A/N: **_Darn you mysterious person for interrupting! ;P_


	8. Fight Me?

**Odds and Ends**

**Fight Me?**

"_I see you two made it to the shack."_

Maka jumped back away from Kid to peer over his shoulder where the voice had come from. Mounted on the wall hung a small mirror within a clock. The outer edges of the clock looked gothic in design with twisted bronze and silver. The mirror, instead of reflecting them, showed Professor Stein. His eyes sparkled with amusement as he studied the two teens.

"We just arrived a few moments ago," Kid answered, recovering faster than Maka. "We were discussing where to go from here."

"_Ah… that's what you kids call it these days,"_ mocked the older man. His smile widened as Maka started to protest loudly. _"It's alright Miss Albarn. I was teasing."_

"Have you had any problems?" Kid asked. His tone had gone from light to a professional one as he addressed their teacher she noticed.

"_No more than usual,"_ he assured. _"I was just checking in on you two. It seems that you took a long route to get there."_

At this Kid blushed, his tone lost the professional aspect and turned slightly colder as he spoke to Stein, "I was doing as you said to make the trip less weary on Maka. Since she hasn't mastered her weapon form I thought it would be safer to use ground transportation for the time being since _you_ recommended it."

Ah, that was why he had been so adamant on not using Beelzebub unless he had to. Maka also heard the stress of how he pointed out that Stein had recommended that they travel that way. She was touched that he had done it for her but annoyed at the same time. It was almost as if he was secretly trying to get Stein to go along with what he was saying, although she knew that wasn't the case it still annoyed her. Luckily her professor seemed to voice her thoughts for her.

"_She isn't going to learn if you baby her with worry."_

Typical of Stein to try and rile people up, his voice in comparison to Kid's was relaxed and even held a bit of contempt as he peered at the pair through the mirror. She could feel her anger start to spike at his words. He was right. Kid had been babying her and he lied! It might not have been a huge lie, but Kid had never said that Stein recommended any of this. She had gone over with Stein and Kid about their background story of an eloping couple but she had never been aware that there may have been a different options. Out of every one Kid was someone she always saw being the most truthful, almost to a fault. Hadn't he said that he was just following Stein's directions? She gritted her teeth, refusing to lash out while Stein was still on the line.

"_But what is done is done. I don't care as long as you two get the job… completed,"_ he told them with a shrug continuing on and interrupting Maka from her thoughts.

"Maka being comfortable enough in her own skin to become a weapon is more important," Kid snapped. "You did give me those instructions to make sure Maka was more at ease and gave us that route."

"_Alright Kid, no need to get so irrational. I'll leave you to train her. Let me know if you have any questions or if you find any… interesting developments,"_ he said with a smirk.

Maka felt her anger dissipate slightly and felt slightly bashful that she had been so quick to believe her mischievous professor over her partner. She was thankful that she hadn't yelled out earlier, although she was sure Stein had picked up on her emotions somehow through the glass. However, that didn't excuse a lot of things. She could still feel her anger bubbling at the surface. They could have trained on the boat, or that night in the hotel. There was nothing holding them back from training, and Kid had yet to really address the issue with her.

Kid and Maka both nodded in response and the line went dead. Showing the two teens reflections now where their Professor's bobbing head had been only seconds ago. She was about to start yelling when Kid turned to face her.

Something about the look in his eye gave her pause. _He needs to be reassured_, she realized. _He needs to know he made the right choice, you're his weapon… comfort him_, an inner voice told her.

Her infamous temper vanished as quickly as it had come as she looked at him. She gave him a weak smile before sitting back on the couch, letting the air escape her with a soundless breath of relief. There was no real reason to be riled up over it, they had plenty of time to train and find this monster. Kid was right, if she wasn't in the right frame of mind then it would be utterly useless to attempt trying. Concentration was needed and a good deal of it. Once she was able to pull her body into that form once it would be no problem, of that she was sure. Look at how easily she had adapted to flying and fighting with Soul. Kid knew too, they just needed to figure out how to get her into weapon form first.

Kid still stood locked in place and ignored her invitation to sit beside her on the couch.

He had his wall up, his stoic personality back in place as he seemed to survey the air with disinterest. Does he do that when he is nervous? Is that so people can't read him? She was his weapon, it wasn't a requirement that she get to know him inside and out but it would help their partnership the more they knew each other. Was he always supposed to be so stoic and professional when he addressed people? What happened to the easy going relaxed Kid from moments before?

Stein's brief presence seemed to shock both of them back into reality. They shouldn't have let themselves get carried away on their crushes for each other. They had a mission to complete, and maybe afterwards they could figure out their feelings. Maka nodded in reassurance to herself.

"Maka?"

Kid's eyes were hard and unreadable as he extended his hand out to her. She felt dumbfounded as she glanced at his hand and then back to his face, before realization of what he wanted sank in. Her heart thrummed loudly in her chest as she stared back at his hand. Her hand twitched at her side, begging her to be resolute and to take his hand.

This wasn't the same situation as moments before when he helped her up and they had embraced. This was professional. The air seemed to fill with tension as she stared blankly at his hand. Her thoughts swirled around her. When she took his hand now, when he helped her stand up, it wouldn't be to embrace her. It would be to soul resonate and help her change into her weapon form. She chewed on her lip as glanced away from his hand and to his eyes. They were still unreadable but he seemed to realize that he wasn't helping her and relaxed slightly. Was she really ready for this? What if this changed something in her and she could never get it back? She had chosen the path of the meister to be more like her mother long ago, would changing this subconscious decision consciously change her too? What if she wasn't able to do it? What if she wasn't capable…?

"I know you can do it Maka," he smiled softly at her, urging her and moved his hand lower.

_He knows I can do it_, she told herself, _I can do it because I know I can do it._

She reached out and gripped Kid's hand.

The change was instantaneous, she felt her body morph and twist its shape. It would have been painful, it was certainly unnerving, but Kid's hand was still holding on to her. Her solace was that simple fact and rock as her body flashed brightly. Their souls collided and invaded one another, hers almost tried to be dominate for a second, before she firmly reminded herself that she was a weapon and pulled it back. The connection was stable and sound as she felt her body stick (in a sense) into its weapon form. Ridged and stiff, she tried not to feel dizzy as Kid swung her around experimentally.

"Thank god, you are symmetrical," he breathed. His tone was still serious and all business like but she could feel his relief through the bond.

She was a double edged scythe. Her blade extended out of both ends of the staff. She was rather plain, much like her father, besides the flash of dull green near the tip of the blades that matched her eyes.

She laughed, and the metallic sound unnerved her slightly. She took a deep breath (she's not quite sure how, seeing as at the moment she doesn't have a mouth) to steady her thoughts before she timidly addressed Kid.

'_We should be fine to go after the monster,_' she told him, the sensation of talking to Kid like this was a bit odd to her, she was used to telepathic communication with Soul but that was when she was a meister...

He hummed but shook his head in denial.

"You aren't ready. We need to train a little, and find a few tactics that you can do no problem. The basics should get us through the mission," he told her. His thumb brushed over their initial grip and she was overcome with the sensation that he was squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"We need to get used to working together like this first. I'm sure it won't take long and then we can go after that monster."

'_Right_,' she said drily. '_It's your call,_' she added.

Although the bitterness in her tone wasn't lost on either of them, Maka was somewhat grateful that Kid was in charge. She loved her relationship with Soul, that he had complete trust in her and followed her whims, she was starting to warm up having to actually listen for a change. Kid was someone she would always have to submit to, and in the future when he took over for his father, this little joint project would make it easier for her to trust him. This was making her stronger, showing her how to work in different aspects, and for that she was grateful.

She did trust him, but as a meister, where she could act and fight alongside him. Being his weapon and his partner was different; she had to be in sync with him. She had to trust him so completely that she was willing to lay her life on the line for him. She was scared about the new partnership, and the new feelings, but a part of her already knew that she was on that level. She had always trusted Kid, and believed in him. She only had to take a small step further in that trust. The difference between meister and a weapon wasn't so different, just slightly, and as she realized this she knew Kid needed to find out on his own. The only way he could do that was to work with her and learn first-hand.

Kid dragged her outside towards the woods, where they spend the rest of the afternoon finding balance with each other. Kid had to learn how to fight with a scythe, as he was used to Liz and Patti and long distance fighting. His spars with Black*Star were useful, but that was for fights without a weapon. Through their connection Maka felt his nerves. His every thought and feeling was conveyed to her, as her body was twirled around deftly in his hands. They chopped down a few dead trees as practice, both mentally celebrating at the sharpness of her blade, and the ease they seemed to be adjusting to one another.

As they headed back to the shack, Maka changed back to her human form. She stretched and realized now why everyone complained when they were in weapon form for too long. Kid seemed a bit weak as well, as he pushed against the door and stumbled in. She fixed them dinner, which consisted of grilled cheese and tomato soup, (she told him a bit annoyed that tomorrow would be his turn to cook) and started a small fire in the fireplace. They sat on the couch and dug into the small meal. She enjoyed the meal and let Kid finish most of it before she turned her attention to Kid fully. There were a few things she felt like she had to address, right now, before it was too late to talk about.

"Kid," she called gently. Her partner seemed to be in his own world as he twirled his soup around with his spoon. His gaze was far off as she cleared her throat and called out to him again. "Kid," she said a little louder. She reached out and touched his arm.

Golden eyes flashed in her direction, they looked cold for a fraction of a second, before they cleared and turned warmer. He tilted his head to the side to gesture he was listening as he continued to eat the rest of his meal (which consisted of mostly crumbs and the last dregs of soup).

"About earlier… I felt something… foreign, while we were resonating," she started timidly. Her hands shot to her pig tails, where she tugged on them nervously as she stared hard at her plate.

"What did it feel like?" he asked gently.

"There were a few things that bothered me. Do you mind if we talk about it?" she probed, testing the waters. She glanced at him discreetly and noticed that his facial expression hadn't changed. He probably understood one of her questions, but the other she was sure he was going to be thrown for a loop.

"Of course," he said urging her on.

"I've felt the first one before when we have done group resonating and I'm assuming the first one I felt was Death… it was cold. Really that is the only way I can describe it," she mumbled. Kid smiled kindly and dropped his spoon turning to face her fully.

"Can you accept that Maka? Can you accept that I am a God of Death? Can you work with that coldness and deliver it to others?"

Her gaze hardened as she met his. She was annoyed that he even had to ask her that, as she was a student at DWMA just as much as he was. Of course it was something she had no problem with.

"I'm a meister. I carry that same coldness and the will of Death. That does not faze me. I just wanted to reaffirm that was what it was."

Kid laughed good-naturedly and nodded.

"As always your Soul Perception will never cease to amaze me," he teased, "and you acceptance for others is beyond angelic."

She blushed at his comment. She had always fancied herself a bit of an angel, as conceded as it sounded. She could recognize her talent and she embraced it. She strived to be the strongest she could be. To do so was to accept herself and others, to understand them and their motives. It was a talent that helped greatly in battles and let her drop her analyzing beforehand so that she could just act and launch into battles. Soul always teased her that he couldn't see her as an angel, and it always sort of irked her.

"Within that coldness," she said after the pause, "I also felt something… dark."

Kid's gaze tightened in confusion as he searched her face for clues.

"Dark?" he questioned.

"You have secrets, everyone does I understand that. But I can't let you go on feeling like that. It isn't right."

"Feeling what?"

"Don't play dumb," she breathed exasperated. "I understand your OCD now. I can't see how you can see yourself like that Kid. You're amazing. You should never feel so inferior. You have everyone's support and loyalty. You're a good friend, a loyal friend, and no one would be able to take your father's place. You won't be replacing your father, you'll be succeeding him. I think you will do things that your father never could. He started Death City and the school but the world has missed his presence. Sure the meisters and Death Scythe's carry out his will, but a living, breathing, fighting God of Death will—"

"Stop," Kid hissed. His hand clamped tightly over her mouth as he stared hard at her cutting her off in her rant. "You can't fix this feeling overnight Maka. I understand all of that. If you think that this one little talk will fix that then you are horribly naïve," he growled. He stood abruptly.

"I appreciate your concern, but at the moment that wasn't necessary," he said coldly.

"Kid, I just want you to know that you don't have to feel like that. I know it won't be overnight. I just want you to know… that I believe in you."

When he turned to look at her, there was an odd mixture in his eyes. They were still hard and they were trying to calculate her, yet there was also a softer emotion she couldn't quite place. He bent down before she could read too far into it and caught her lips in a searing kiss.

Much like their first kiss this one was desperate; it made her feel like time itself was running out. She hands caught his collar and pulled him on top of her as she fell back into the couch. Their tongues battled fiercely as he pinned her down. His mouth was feverish as it slanted against hers. They stayed like that for several moments, both scared to move their hands scared to cross the border of their fragile friendship. Although both practically ached to explore the others body.

When they broke apart, Kid closed his eyes and rested his head against her forehead, which gave Maka a fuzzy feeling that filled her head with a pleasant buzz. Their breath mingled as they breathed each other in.

Kid straightened and pulled her up with him. She was awkwardly braced in his chest for a second before they stumbled off the couch and stood about a foot apart. Kid closed the distance again and caught her waist pulling her closer. He bent down and caught her lips in a chaste kiss. The difference from moments before had her heart pounding loudly in her chest. This was soft and tender, his grip was tight on her waist as if he was scared she would pull away, but it relaxed as she kissed him back.

"We need to stop," Kid panted between kisses, yet he made no move to stop.

As much as she hated to agree with him, he was right. If they kept kissing like this… it could only lead to one ending. She swallowed and gently pulled back.

"Yeah," she agreed. Kid's eyes were dark with lust, and it stirred something inside of her. She didn't really want to stop, and it was obvious that neither did Kid.

"We should… uh…" she stumbled and fought to sound unaffected while searching for the correct words.

"Get ready for bed?" Kid guessed. He flashed a charming smile and stretched his arms over his head, yawning exaggeratingly. "We did have a rough few days. Tomorrow isn't going to be any easier. We'll have to go out and hunt something. The food source will get too low otherwise."

"It'll be good practice too," Maka agreed, she found herself frowning at having to actually hunt something but wrote it off. There actually wasn't that much food, maybe enough to last them another week, and if they found some meat they could make some jerky to last them. It just put more pressure on them to finish the mission quicker.

She wasn't sure when, but their hands had somehow become intertwined. She only noticed it as Kid tugged her back to the mattresses and for the first time in days the two collapsed on separate beds. Both stared at the ceiling, Maka found her eyes tracing the patterns that the stitches provided, and Kid used it as an excuse to discreetly glance over at Maka from time to time.

The silence that consumed them wasn't _as _awkward as it had been days before, but it was still tense. It might have been because after a while, Maka felt like she could feel Kid's smoldering gaze upon her. It made her shiver, and as much as she wanted to roll over and sleep, she found herself stealing a few glances at him. He wasn't bashful about his staring, the warm look in his eyes was gone again, and the cold replaced it. His golden eyes seemed hard as he scanned her body, but they were dilated ever so slightly by lust. The odd look left her feeling excited, almost like she was being hunted. Their bunks were close enough that if she rolled over in the middle of the night she would wind up on his bed. If she reached out she could touch him. The thought scared her, but the feeling of excitement failed to disappear.

"Maka," Kid whispered, his voice was surprisingly gentle despite his darkening look.

"Hmm?"

"Close your eyes," he commanded softly.

Her heart was pounding so loudly she was sure he could hear it, but she did as he bid. She waited, expecting his soft lips to brush against her as she felt the weight on her cot shift as his body slid above hers. She was willingly listening to him, trusting him more now than she had ever done before.

"Goodnight Maka," he mumbled, his lips barely brushing against hers. She felt the bed shift as Kid rolled back onto his cot.

"Goodnight," she whispered back with a soft smile. Her fingers subconsciously tracing her lips as she relished in the warmth. Her mind peacefully shut down as sleep drew her in.

* * *

**A/N: **_For those of you who guessed Stein, good job! I mean I thought it would be pretty obvious but if I didn't then... oh well you found out. I went with Maka's fast ability to adjust to new situations in this chapter. For one I thought it made a good connection for Kid and Maka and the other was I didn't want to spend forever making her a weapon. Until next time! _


End file.
